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REESE  LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 
1{ecened      Chli^yeJv  . 


Recession  No 


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EFORM 


Coi.f  ALPH  DE  FAIRMONT 


The  Arena  Publishing  Company, 

BOSTON,    JWTA.SS. 


THE 


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ALFRED  R    WALLACE,  D.C.L. 
PROF.  MAX  MULLER. 
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REV.  LYMAN  ABBOTT,  D.D. 
CANON  W.  H.  FREEMANTLH. 
LADY  HENRY  SOMERSET. 
FRANCES  E.  WILLARD. 
COUNT  LEO  TOLSTOI. 
HENRY  GEORGE. 
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EMILIO  CASTELAR. 


MARY  A.  LIVERMORE. 
JOHN  CLARK  RIDPATH,  LL.D. 
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PROF.  T.  FUNCK-BRENTANO. 
POSTMASTER-GENERAL  WILSON. 
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HAMLIN  GARLAND. 


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Address 


THE  ARENA  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 

Copley   Square,  Boston,    Mass. 


REFORM 


An   Essay  on  the   Political,   Financial, 

and  Social  Condition  of  the 

United  States 


—  SHOWING  — 


Dangers,  Defects,  and  Remedies 


BY  COLONEL  RALPH  DE  CLAIRMONT 


BOSTON  I 

THE    ARENA    PUBLISHING    COMPANY, 

COPLEY  SQUARE, 

1896. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1894,  by 

COI,.  RALPH  DE  CLAIRMONT, 
in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  'Washington,  D.  C. 


All  Rights  Reservfd. 


CONTENTS. 


PREFACE. 

1.  CAVEAT  PATR1A. 

2.  LAW  AND  JUSTICE. 

3.  LEGISLATION. 

4.  THE  PRESS. 

5.  EDUCATION. 

6.  RELIGION. 

7.  FINANCE. 

8.  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT 

9.  UNITED  STATES  ARMY. 
CONCLUSION. 


APPENDIX. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  REPUBLIC  OF  SWITZERLAND 


VI        ,  CONTENTS. 

Court — Majesty  of  the  Law — Contempt — King  Alonzo  the  Wise,  and  the 
Lawyers — Contempt  of  Court  in  France — Boulanger  in  New  York — 
Election  of  Judges  and  Other  Judicial  Officers — Judges  of  Federal  Courts 
and  United  States  Supreme  Court— Judicial  Robes  and  Cap — Respect  in 
Court — Conduct  of  the  Public — Arms  in  Court — Punishment  for  Such 
Offenses — Jury  System — Who  to  Serve  as  Jurors,  and  How  Long — Chal- 
lenging Jurors — Trial  of  Cases  by  the  Papers — Model  Jury — Object  of 
Imprisonment — Preventive  Imprisonment — Perorations  of  Attorneys — 
Civil  Procedure — Mexico  Ahead  in  Justice — Costs  of  Suit  in  Mexico — 
Moderate  Fees  and  Charges — Shameful  Treatment  of  Witnesses  by 
Insolent  Attorneys — Detention  of  Witnesses — Speedy  Trials — State 
Courts — Code  Napole"on— Metric  System — Manner  of  Introducing  It  in 
Mexico — Conciseness  of  Judicial  Verbiage  in  France  as  Compared  to  Ours 
— Model  Decision  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  Paris — Court  of  Cassation 
— Prompt  Execution  of  Sentence — Pardoning  Power — General  Dix's  Idea 
on  Pardons — Butte  City  Almost  Free  From  Crime — Swiss  Prisons — Death 
Penalty— Methods  of  Capital  Punishment — Vivisection — Sympathy  of 
Women  for  Criminals  in  Jail — Bonds  and  Bail — Penal  Colonies  on  Adja- 
cent Islands — Expulsion  from  the  Country — Fiscal  Standing  in  Court — 
Immunity  of  Higher  Criminals — Lynching  and  Causes — Purification  and 
Simplification  of  Our  Laws. 

III.     LEGISLATION. 

Definition — Analysis  of  the  Laws — The  Different  United  States  in 
America — Whom  to  Elect  to  Legislatures — Qualifications  of  Legislators 
— Conflicting  Laws  and  Legislation — State  Supreme  Courts  and  United 
States  Supreme  Court — Decisions  Rendered — Opinions  Not  To  Be  Pub- 
lished— Concurrence  and  Dissension — Origin  of  Bills,  Amendments  and 
Intricate  Process — Abolish  State  Senates — Veto  Power — Election  of 
United  States  Senators — Bribery  in  Elections — Sphere  and  Power  of  the 
Federal  Government — Railroads  and  Telegraphs  To  Be  Owned  by  the 
Government — Auditors  and  Controllers — Government  Accounts — "The 

People  Be  D !" — American  Railroads — How  Constructed  and  Guarded 

— Treatment  of  Passengers — European  Railroads — Accidents  in  Switzer- 
land— Reduction  of  Employees  and  Dividends — Seizure  of  Railroads  by 
the  Government  for  Unpaid  Taxes — Railroad  Commissioners — American 
Cars — Swiss  Cars  and  Officials — Marriage  and  Divorce — Civil  Register 
Courts  of  Mexico— Wise  Laws  in  the  Sister  Republic — Marriage  in 
Mexico — Births  and  Deaths— Judicial  Oaths  Mostly  a  Farce— Identifica- 
tion of  Individuals — Uniform  Divorce  Laws  Needed — Adultery — Hasty, 
Irreflected  Marriages — Sphere  of  Women — Rights  and  Duties  of  Women 
— Household  Servants — Anarchism — Definition — The  Doctrines  and 
Actions  of  Anarchists — Retribution — Mutual  Agreement  of  Governments 
— Explosives — Their  Manufacture  and  Danger — Nitro-gly  cerine — Restric- 
tion of  Their  Sale — Punishment  of  Offenders — Return  to  Gunpowder, 
Smoothbore  Cannon  and  Wooden  Ships — Ironclads  and  Torpedoes — 


CONTENTS.  vii 

High  Explosives  in  Their  Infancy — Experiment  and  Explosion — Pre- 
ventive Measures  Against  Anarchists— Visitors  to  Parliaments  in  Euro.pe 
— Regulations  for  Admission — Protection  of  Public  Buildings — Socialists 
— " Homo  Sapiens"  and  "Homo  Imbecilis" — Prosperity  and  Financial 
Condition  of  the  French  People — Distribution  of  Realty — Laws  of  Tenure 
for  Real  Estate — Working  Hours  and  Pay  of  Workingmen  in  France — 
Cost  of  Living  in  France — Condition  of  American  Laboring  Classes — 
Discharge  of  Employees  Here  and  in  Mexico — Bankruptcy  and  Account 
Books  in  Mexico — Federal  Uniform  Bankrupt  Law — Fraudulent  Failures 
— Registration  of  Foreigners  Residing  in  France — Chinese  Defying  the 
Laws  of  Congress — "Dura  Lex,  sed  Lex!" — Detective  Agencies — 
Employment  of  Private  Detectives  and  Sneaking  Spies — Police,  Na- 
tional Guard  and  Army — Rebellious  States  in  Interdict — Greater  Powers 
to  Government  and  to  United  States  Supreme  Court — Condottieri  and 
Freebooters — Price  on  the  Heads  of  Fugitive  Criminals — Mexican  Rob- 
ber Chief— American  Flag — Foreign  Banners  To  Be  Limited — Admission 
of  Territories  to  Statehood — Washington  the  Best  Governed  City — 
Territorial  Government — Pensions — Enormous  Amount  Paid  Still — Pro- 
vision for  the  Aged  and  Crippled— Franchises  and  Charters  and  Their 
Execution — Street  Cars  and  Railroads— Rights  and  Privileges  of  Passen- 
gers— Judges  in  Theaters  in  Mexico — Prize-fighting — Concealed  Weapons 
— Manufacture  and  Sale  of  Arms— Gendarmes  and  Carabinieri — Uniform 
and  Armament  of  Policemen — English  Police — Public  Streets — Streets  of 
Washington,  D.  C. — Buildings — Fiasco  in  London — Forests  and  their 
Preservation — Naturalization — United  States  Mails — Lotteries — Beer, 
Wines  and  Liquor— Insurance  and  Fires. 


IV.    THE  PRESS. 

Introductory — Brief  History— Invention  of  Printing — Costly  Bibles — 
Power  of  the  Press  for  Good  and  Evil — Early  Journalism  in  Europe  and 
the  United  States — First  Newspapers  Published—Journalism  in  England, 
France,  Germany,  Italy  and  Spain — Oldest  Paper  in  America — Oldest 
Regular  Periodical— Journalism  in  the  United  States — Colonial  Days — 
Former  and  Present  Capacity — "  Fast  Press  "  and  Modern  Steam  Press — 
Concentration  and  Radiation  of  News — Associated  Press — Want  of  Dis- 
crimination in  News — Developed  like  Fungi — Size  of  Papers— Excess  of 
Matter— Small  Type— Defects  and  Errors  of  the  Press— Vices— Attacks 
on  Individuals — Want  of  Redress— Power  of  the  Press — Public  Opinion 
— Advertisements— Rights  of  Advertisers — Responsible  Editor— Report- 
ers :  Their  Duties  and  Functions — Hasty  and  Precocious  News— Paper 
Trials  of  Offenders — Size,  Type  and  Appearance  of  Papers — Leading  Arti- 
cles— Excessive  Liberty,  Influence  and  Privileges — Control  and  Censor- 
ship— Penalties  and  Fines  in  Europe — Jury  Trials  and  Convictions — 
Analysis  of  Prominent  Papers — Sensational  Nonsense — Illustrations  in 
the  Dailies — Legitimate  and  Blackmail  Profits — Interestedness  in  Paid 


viii  CONTENTS. 

News — Excellent  Papers  of  London — Originality  and  Superiority- 
Berlin  Echo — Papers  Public  Instructors  and  Educators — Purity  of  the 
Press — Crusade  Against  the  Press — Rose-colored  Illustrated  Papers — Sup- 
pression of  Bad  Books. 

V.     EDUCATION. 

Introductory — Public  Schools — Their  Superiority  to  Those  of  Europe 
— American  Text  Books — Higher  Educational  Schools  in  Europe — Com- 
pulsory Education — Limit  of  Free  Public  Education — Taxation  for  School 
Purposes — Branches  Taught  in  Public  Schools — State  Control  and  Higher 
Schools — Religion  in  Public  Schools — Morality,  Urbanity  and  Good 
Manners — Female  Teachers — Male  Teachers — Pay  of  Teachers — Vacation 
— Mixed  Classes — Teachers  To  Be  Permanent — Pensioning  of  Teachers — 
Universal  Higher  Education  and  Its  Consequences — Increased  Standard 
and  More  Years  of  Study— Results  of  Classical  Education — Modern  Lan- 
guages— Spanish  Language — Its  Origin,  Beauty  and  Perfection — Uni- 
versal Language — Volapiik — Cigarettes  and  Drink — Children  Not  To  Be 
Out  Alone  at  Night. 

VI.     RELIGION. 

Secular  and  Spiritual  Education — Sects — Puritans — Intolerance — 
Principal  Confessions  and  Sects — Worldly  and  Political  Interference — The 
Church  of  Rome — Society  of  Jesus — Finances  of  the  Church — Divided 
Protestantism — The  Lord's  Sabbath — E  Pluribus  Unum — Church  of 
England — English  and  American  Clergy — Qualifications  of  a  Minister — 
Ecclesiastical  Dignity  and  Appearance — Public  Religious  Processions 
and  Ceremonies— Street  Dervishes — Salvation  Army  in  England  and 
Switzerland — American  Missionaries— Jesuit  Missionaries — Chinese  Mis- 
sions — Donations  to  the  Church  and  Legacies — Catholic  University  in 
Washington — No  Religious  Interference  in  Politics — Chaplain  in  Con- 
gress— Interference  with  Other  Creeds — Christian  Toleration — Sunday 
Observance — Recreation— Sunday  Enjoyment  in  London — Cremation — 
Cemeteries — 1,200  Millions  to  Bury— Process  of  Cremation — Liberty  of 
Conscience — The  Mormons,  Polygamy,  Bigamy,  Monogamy  and  Poly- 
andry— Secret  Societies— Nativism  and  the  Foreign  Element — Intol- 
erance—Importation of  White  and  Yellow  Coolies — Ostracism — Hostility 
to  Foreigners. 

VII.     FINANCE. 

Mathematics — President  Pierce — Mesilla  Valley — Santa  Anna — 
Causes  of  Crisis — Millions  to  China — Trade  with  China — Chinese  Census 
and  Earnings — Exchanges  and  Stocks — Brokers — Banking — Defaulters 
and  Forgers— Jews  and  Gold— Joseph  in  Egypt — Bank  Profits — Utility 
of  Banks — Bank  of  England  and  of  France — Bank  Notes — Paper  Money 


CONTENTS.  ix 

— Bank  of  England  Notes — Silver  Coining  in  England — United  States 
Notes — Solution  of  Silver  Question — Independence  of  the  United  States 
— Scarcity  of  Gold— Base  Coin — Earlier  Coins — Gold  Shipments — Rise 
of  the  Greenback — Export  of  Gold  Checked — Profit  on  Bank  Notes — 
Government  Banking — Credit — Government  Revenues — Tariff— Ineffi- 
ciency of  Senate — Import  Duties — Income  Tax — Taxation  of  Estates — 
Veto  of  Coinage  Bill — Seigniorage — Opposition  to  Silver— Government 
Notes — Paper  Money  in  Europe. 


VIII.     FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT. 

City  of  Washington — Washington  Monument — Government  of  the 
District  of  Columbia — Strategical  Position — Pilgrimage  to  Washington 
— Fortifying  of  Washington — Constitution — Swiss  Constitution — Amend- 
ments— Diplomacy— Republic  of  Switzerland — Her  Government — Presi- 
dential Powers — Veto  Power — Rank  and  Power  of  the  President — The 
Czar  of  Russia — Respect  of  President — His  Military  Household — Assas- 
sination of  Lincoln  and  Garfield — President  Pierce — Guarding  White 
House  and  Public  Buildings — Presidential  Election — President  Not  to 
Succeed  Himself— Messages  and  Reports — Salary  of  President— Retire- 
ment of  President — Cincinnatus  and  Washington — Ex-Presidents  as 
Senators — Their  Knowledge  and  Experience — Departments  of  Govern- 
ment— Perfection  of  Accounts — Sword  of  Damocles — Government  Print- 
ing— Official  Courtesy — Female  Clerks — Officials,  Faithful  and  Honest — 
Punishment  of  Offenders — Senate  and  House  of  Representatives — Too 
Many  Senators — No  Bills  to  Originate  in  the  Senate — No  Veto  for  Presi- 
dent—Clean Up  the  Work— Servants  of  the  Entire  Nation,  Not  of  Par- 
ties— Functions  of  the  Senate — Prompt  and  Good  Legislation  Wanted — 
Rules  of  Proceedings  in  Both  Houses — Reform  Needed — Attendance  of 
Members — Disciplinary  Measures— Foreign  Legislative  Bodies— Disorder 
in  House  and  Senate — Desks  in  Senate — Penalties  in  French  Chambers — 
Military  Guard  in  Capitol — No  Work,  No  Pay — Arrest  of  Members — 
Millionaires  in  Congress — Election  of  Senators — French  Senate — House 
of  Lords — Federal  Prisoners — Periodicals  in  Washington — "Official 
Gazette"  or  "Monitor" — Premature  and  Indiscreet  Publication — Diplo- 
matic and  Consular  Service — Inefficiency — Ridiculous  Diplomatic  Inci- 
dent—Qualifications of  Diplomats  and  Consuls — Permanency  and  Pro- 
motion of  American  Diplomats — Incompetent  and  Unworthy  Men — 
Suppression  of  Some  Missions — "Vse  Victis" — Diplomatic  and  Con- 
sular Uniforms — Dress  of  Franklin  in  Paris — Supreme  Court —  Its  Con- 
stitution and  Emoluments — Increase  of  Number  of  Justices  to  Thirteen 
— Its  Jurisdiction  and  Duties — Mass  of  Business  and  Inability — Retire- 
ment of  Justices — Unconstitutionally  of  Laws — Dissolution  of  Con- 
gress by  Supreme  Court. 


CONTENTS. 


IX.     UNITED   STATES   ARMY. 

Importance  of  the  National  Army — United  States  Navy — European 
Armies — Military  System  of  Switzerland — Famous  Swiss  Victories — Neu- 
trality of  Switzerland — Garrisons  in  European  Capitals — Military  Budget 
of  Switzerland — Military  Department  at  Berne — Liability  to  Serve,  and 
Recruits — Military  Training  in  Switzerland — Military  Exemption  Tax — 
Training  of  Officers  and  Non-commissioned  Officers — Permanent  Staff 
— Military  Organization  of  Switzerland — Fortification  of  St.  Gotthard 
— Swiss  Uniform — United  States  Army— Superiority  Over  Other  Armies 
— Mexican  War — General  Scott — Beards  in  the  Army — Army  Officers — 
West  Point — Graduates  from  the  Military  Academy — Marriage  of  Offi- 
cers— Wearing  Uniform— Promotion — Discipline — Deserters — Term  of 
Enlistment — Re-enlistment— Promotion  from  the  Ranks — Secretary  of 
War — Strength  of  the  United  States  Army — Command  of  the  Army — 
Administrative  Department — Facility  for  and  Correctness  of  Business — 
General  Staff  of  the  Army— Its  Possible  Organization — Adjutant-General 
— Control  of  Military  Accounts — Military  Degradation — Army  Chap- 
lains— 1  fr  iform  and  Clothing — Trappings  and  Accouterments — Impor- 
tance of  the  Army — Value  of  a  Standing  Army — Philosophical  View  of 
the  Army — Importance  of  a  Strong  Army — Increase  of  the  Army — Mili- 
tia Forces  of  the  States — Superiority  of  the  Army — Its  Sphere  of  Utility — 
Industrial  and  Labor  Armies — "Si  vis  Pacem,  Para  Bellum " — Military 
Posts — Concentration  of  Troops — Field  Maneuvers — Northern  and 
Southern  Frontier — Civil  and  Military  Authority — Military  Courts — Writ 
of  Habeas  Corpus— Auditors  in  Europe— Judge  Advocate-General — Sacri- 
fices by  the  Army — Mexican  War  and  Result — Volunteers — Washington 
and  West  Point. 


PREFACE. 


«  1UTULTUM  IN  PARVO"  is  the  opening  motto  of 
this  book, — an  essay  on  the  political,  financial  and 
social  condition  of  the  United  States,  showing  the  dangers  that 
beset  this  great  Republic,  the  defects  of  its  institutions,  and  the 
remedies  to  be  applied.  The  work  is  written  in  an  absolutely 
patriotic  spirit,  free  from  prejudice  and  passion  ;  the  language 
used  is  plain  and  comprehensive  for  all  classes  of  our  immense 
population,  from  the  haughty  banker  and  so-called  merchant 
prince  to  the  plain  artisan  and  humble  day-laborer. 

In  order  to  show  that  the  author  is  competent  to  handle  the 
great  subject  developed  in  this  book,  and  that  "he  knoweth 
whereof  he  writeth,"  he  begs  leave  of  the  kind  and  indulgent 
reader  to  make  the  following  preliminary  declaration : 

Although  of  foreign  birth  the  writer  came  to  this  country 
when  a  boy,  became  a  citizen  in  1856,  and  has  resided  here 
ever  since,  with  the  exception  of  several  years'  residence  and 
travel  in  Mexico  during  the  civil  strife  prior  to  the  advent  of 
Maximilian,  and  travel  in  Central  America  and  Europe  in 
1890  and  1891.  He  had  the  honor  of  being  acquainted  with 
and  a  protege  of  General  Winfield  Scott,  was  present  at  the 
inauguration  of  President  Franklin  Pierce,  at  the  funerals  of 
Daniel  Webster  and  Henry  Clay,  and  on  the  night  of  the  i5th 
of  December,  1858,  had  an  interview  at  the  White  House  with 
President  James  Buchanan  and  General  Cass,  Secretary  of 
State,  in  consequence  of  which  a  United  States  Minister  was 
sent  to  Vera  Cruz  and  recognized  the  Juarez  Government  of 
Mexico,  at  that  time  located  in  the  heroic  seaport.  The 


Xll  PREFACE. 

writer  has  held  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust  in  the 
ordinary  pursuits  of  life,  as  well  as  in  the  diplomatic  and 
military  service,  vliich  enabled  him  to  study  and  closely 
observe  political,  financial  and  social  matters,  not  only  in  the 
United  States,  but  in  Mexico,  Central  America  and  most 
European  countries. 

No  names  will  be  given  in  this  book,  and  no  personalities 
are  intended ;  if,  however,  the  jacket  fits  certain  parties,  we 
cannot  help  it,  and  must  do  like  the  celebrated  Pontius  Pilate. 
Truth  is  frequently  disagreeable  to  hear ;  yet  every  one  will 
find  something  of  interest  to  him  in  the  perusal  of  our  work, 
no  matter  what  party  or  station  of  life  he  may  belong  to.  We 
expect  to  be  severely  criticized,  as  a  matter  of  course  :  such 
is  the  lot  which  befalls  all  those  who  have  the  courage  to  come 
forth  fran1*3y  and  fearlessly  in  the  defense  of  what  they  con- 
sider right  •  but  we  shall  not  pay  any  attention  to  adverse 
criticism,  and  simply  repeat  the  great  axiom,  "  Magna  esi 
veritas  et  semper  prevalebit  T '  (Great  is  truth  and  will  always 

prevail ! ) 

THE  AUTHOR. 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  May,  1894. 


REFORM 


AN  ESSAY  ON  THE  POLITICAL,  FINANCIAL  AND 

SOCIAL    CONDITION    OF    THE 

UNITED   STATES. 


I.     CAVEAT  PATRIA! 

"  BREAKERS  AHEAD!"  is  the  ominous  warning  cry  oi 
the  lookout  when  a  white  line  of  foam  looms  up  before 
the  moving  craft,  indicating  the  proximity  of  a  lee  shore  or 
dangerous  rocks.  Well  might  that  warning  cry  strike  fear 
and  terror  into  the  hearts  of  captain,  crew  and  passengers;  the 
danger  is  appalling  !  Timely  and  speedy  maneuvers  may 
save  the  craft :  if  she  be  a  steamer,  a  reversal  of  the  engines 
sometimes  averts  her  doom ;  a  sailing  vessel  has  but  small 
chances.  Thus  even  is  it  with  the  "  Ship  of  State  /  " 

Kver  since  human  events  have  been  recorded  with  more  or 
less  correctness,  history  shows  us  the  continued  foundation, 
rise  and  fall  of  mighty  empires  and  republics.  The  destruc- 
tion by  fire  of  the  famous  library  of  Alexandria,  which 
contained  the  records  of  the  most  remote  periods  in  the 
existence  of  mankind, — that  immense  and  irreparable  disaster 
has  deprived  us  of  the  only  authentic  sources  for  the  study 
and  investigation  of  the  past.  Beyond  the  foundation  of 
Rome,  in  the  year  753  before  Christ,  history  is  extremely 
doubtful  and  mythical.  After  the  Christian  era  and  the  divis- 
ion of  the  Roman  Empire  by  the  Emperor  Theodosius  toward 


2  CAVEAT    PATRIA. 

the  close  of  the  fourth  century,  history  was  written  and  pre- 
served principally  by  the  monks  isolated  in  their  monasteries, 
and  the  secretaries  of  the  ruling  princes,  whose  versions  are 
not  always  very  reliable.  One  fact,  however,  stands  out 
prominent  and  indisputable.  All  ancient  history  converges 
into  that  of  the  Roman  republic  and  empire,  and  all  modern 
history  again  radiates  therefrom  !  This  great  and  all  absorb- 
ing empire,  the  like  of  which  had  never  existed  before,  nor 
will  probably  ever  exist  again,  lasted  no  less  than  eleven 
centuries :  it  not  only  attained  the  highest  point  of  civiliza- 
tion, literature,  art,  architecture,  culture  and  refinement  that 
has  ever  been  reached,  but  produced  great  numbers  of  the  most 
celebrated  legislators,  warriors,  statesmen,  poets  and  artists. 
Julius  Csesar  alone,  the  great,  the  incomparable  Caesar,  is 
sufficient  to  throw  everlasting  glory  and  splendor  on  Roman 
history.  Such  a  man  had  never  appeared  before,  nor  proba- 
bly ever  will  appear  again.  The  greatest  of  generals,  states- 
men and  legislators,  Caesar's  career  was  one  brilliant  success 
from  beginning  to  end  :  he  never  experienced  serious  defeat ; 
he  rose  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  power,  glory  and  honor  man 
ever  attained;  and  when  the  dagger  of  fanatical,  though 
patriotic,  conspirators  terminated  his  existence,  the  very  pur- 
pose they  had  sought  to  accomplish  was  frustrated  by  the 
prompt  establishment  of  an  empire  which  lasted  no  less  than 
five  hundred  years.  The  only  error  Caesar  ever  committed 
was  his  sojourn  of  two  years  in  Egypt,  the  guest  of  Mrs. 
Cleopatra  Ptolemy,  for  which,  however,  he  made  brilliant 
atonement  very  soon  after. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  in  these  limited  pages,  intended  to  be 
a  kind  of  ' '  Mene,  Mene,  Tekel,  Upharsin  /  "  to  enter  into  any 
description  of  the  different  republics  that  have  enjoyed  a  more 
or  less  noteworthy  existence  ; — the  turbulent  and  short-lived 
Greek  republics,  the  splendid  Roman  republic,  the  mercantile 
republics  of  Genoa  and  Venice,  even  the  lilliputian  republic  of 
San  Marino,  we  will  pass  over,  and  dedicating  a  few  preliminary 
notices  to  the  Swiss  and  French  republics,  now  nourishing  in 
their  well-deserved  prosperity  and  glory,  we  will  come  to  the 
object  of  this  volume, — the  great  republic  of  the  United  States, 
with  a  few  remarks  on  our  Spanish  sister  republics  of  America. 


CAVEAT    P ATRIA.  3 

Prominent  and  superior  to  all  ancient  as  well  as  modern 
democracies  stands  Switzerland,  the  Helvetian  Republic !  The 
writer  was  present  at  the  celebration  of  the  6ooth  anniversary  of 
the  Swiss  Republic  on  the  26.  of  August,  1891,  at  its  very  cradle, 
the  town  of  Schwyz,  the  source  and  fountain  of  liberty  in  Europe 
even  in  the  dark  feudal  epoch.  That  great  celebration  all  over 
the  famous  Republic  surpasses  any  similar  event  we  ever 
witnessed,  as  regards  the  unanimous  enthusiasm  and  true,  real, 
unfeigned  patriotism  which  prevailed  among  the  entire  Swiss 
population  of  about  three  millions,  irrespective  of  creed,  rank, 
station  or  condition;  and  well  might  they  celebrate  and  be  proud 
of  their  success.  During  the  six  hundred  years  that  elapsed 
from  the  conspiracy  on  the  Riitli,  in  1291,  which  resulted  in 
the  final  overthrow  of  the  Austrian  rule  and  oppression,  Switzer- 
land maintained  her  independence  against  every  invading  foe, 
to  the  extent  of  utterly  defeating  the  mighty  armies  of  the 
Archduke  of  Austria  in  1315,  slaying  the  prince  himself  and 
the  flower  of  the  Austrian  chivalry,  and,  in  1476,  those  of  the 
powerful,  hitherto  unvanquished  Duke  of  Burgundy,  Charles 
the  Bold,  who  was  slain  and  his  army  annihilated.  And  so 
fared  all  those  who  came  to  interfere  with  the  brave  and 
patriotic  Swiss  nation.  All  invading  armies  were  repelled,  the 
French  excepted,  who,  under  Massena,  defeated  the  Russians 
at  the  battle  of  Zurich  in  1799.  Napoleon,  however,  proposed 
and  concluded  an  honorable  peace  immediately,  and  the  two 
countries  became  and  have  remained  staunch  friends  ever  since. 
The  Swiss  Republic,  notwithstanding  its  victories  over  all  its 
external  enemies,  has  not  been  exempt  from  internecine 
troubles.  On  the  contrary,  civil  and  religious  wars  raged 
there  frequently,  the  inevitable  result  of  the  Reformation  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  but  the  good  sense  of  the  people  always 
resulted  in  renewed  tranquillity. 

In  1847  dissensions  broke  out,  and  a  portion  of  the  Cantons 
formed  a  separate  league,  the  "Sonderbund"  which  threatened 
to  disrupt  the  Swiss  confederation  for  the  time  being.  Happily 
for  the  country,  and  we  may  say  for  the  world  at  large,  this 
calamity  was  averted  through  the  noble  and  patriotic  action  of 
the  Federal  con  mander,  General  Dufour,  and  in  1848  a  new 
constitution  was  inaugurated,  since  which  period  the  public 


4  CAVEAT    PATRIA. 

tranquillity  has  been  undisturbed,  and  peace  and  harmony  have 
reigned  ever  since.  And  how  could  it  be  otherwise  when, 
after  so  many  centuries  of  tests  and  experiments,  the  most 
perfect,  equitable  and  just  system  of  laws  and  government  has 
been  brought  about  that  could  procure  the  happiness,  security 
and  prosperity  of  any  country  on  earth  ! 

One  of  the  reasons  Switzerland  has  been  respected  by  her 
monarchical  neighbors  in  spite  of  her  republican  form  of 
government  is  that  from  time  immemorial  she  has  afforded  a 
place  of  refuge  for  political  and  religious  offenders  and  exiles 
of  every  description,  and  that  she  has  ever  maintained  the  right 
of  asylum  sacred  within  her  territory.  Monarchs,  princes, 
democrats,  demagogues  and  anarchists  alike  are  welcome,  pro- 
vided they  behave  themselves  and  observe  the  laws  of  the 
great  model  Republic. 

A  We  shall  frequently  refer  to  the  Swiss  Republic  during  the 
course  of  these  pages,  for  the  simple  reason  that  in  Switzerland 
everything  is  good  and  commendable, — scenery,  government, 
roads,  streets,  railroads,  post,  telegraph,  police,  hotels,  and 
in  fact  everything  else. 

The  present  French  Republic  is  the  third  and  most  success- 
ful trial  of  the  democratic  form  of  government  in  one  of  the 
most  enlightened,  fairest  and  richest  countries  under  the  sun. 
Well  is  it  said  even  by  the  hostile  German,  when  speaking  of 
some  one  enjoying  himself  to  his  heart's  content  anywhere, 
"He  lives  like  God  in  France."  The  many  causes  of  the 
great  prosperity  of  France  are  self-evident,  but  we  have 
neither  time  nor  space  to  enter  into  any  discussion  of  these. 
After  one  thousand  years  of  monarchy  came  the  great  French 
revolution  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  child  of 
its  precursor,  the  American  revolution,  to  which  we  owe  the 
political  independence  and  immense  growth  of  the  United 
States.  The  first  French  Republic  was  not  of  long  duration  : 
the  very  excesses  committed  by  its  founders  and  adepts,  such 
as  Dan  ton,  Marat  and  Robespierre,  caused  the  French  people 
to  desire  peace,  quiet  and  personal  security;  and  thus  it  was 
an  easy  task  for  the  great  Napoleon  Bonaparte  to  first  sub- 
due and  regulate  the  distracted  Republic,  and  subsequently  to 
found  on  its  glorious  ruins  the  vast  and  mighty  empire,  the 


CAVEAT   PATRIA.  5 

deeds  and  splendor  of  which  will  astonish  posterity  for 
centuries  to  come.  Napoleon  I,  the  greatest  of  men  after  Caius 
Julius  Caesar,  might  have  almost  equaled  his  prototype  had  he 
not  committed  a  number  of  fatal  errors,  the  most  grievous  one 
being  the  Russian  campaign,  in  winter  too,  causing  the 
destruction  of  his  grand  army,  and  depriving  him  of  the 
immense  prestige  of  uninterrupted  brilliant  victories.  Had  he 
desisted  from  the  impossible  conquest  of  Russia,  there  would 
have  been  no  Leipzig,  no  Waterloo,  the  grave  of  European 
liberty  for  a  hundred  years.  Robert  Hall,  the  celebrated 
English  philosopher,  exclaimed  at  the  time  :  "  When  I  heard 
of  the  result  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  the 
clock  of  the  world  had  gone  back  for  a  hundred  years  ! ' ' 
Events  have  proved  the  unfortunate  truth  of  this  saying. 

The  effeminate  and  incapable  Bourbon  dynasty  was  restored 
to  the  throne,  but  it  was  not  many  years  before  the  Tenth 
Charles  had  to  flee  and  give  his  place  to  Louis  Philippe,  the 
so-called  citizen-king,  who  in  turn  fled  to  England  in  1848, 
when  the  second  French  Republic  was  established.  Still  the 
French  nation  in  general  was  not  ripe  for  a  general  democracy. 
The  second  empire  was  founded  by  Napoleon  III,  the  un- 
worthy and  pitiful  nephew  of  Napoleon  the  Great,  who  was  to 
fall  so  ignominiously  at  Sedan,  in  just  retribution  for  his 
infamous  treason  to  the  nation,  when  he.  destroyed  the  second 
republic  by  force  of  arms.  His  former  cognomen  by  Victor 
Hugo  of  ' '  The  Man  of  the  Second  of  December ' '  was  then 
changed  to  that  of  "  The  Man  of  Sedan,"  and  with  this  he  has 
gone  down  to  posterity.  After  the  Franco-German  war  of 
1870-71  the  re-establishment  of  the  empire  would  have  been 
a  comparatively  easy  matter  in  France  had  not  victorious 
Germany  stood  aloof,  indirectly  encouraged  the  foundation  of 
the  third  republic,  and  thus  brought  about  a  change  highly 
advantageous  for  poor,  bleeding  and  helpless  France,  but 
quite  dangerous  for  the  prolonged  maintenance  of  a  number  of 
rotten  and  tottering  monarchies.  The  third  French  Republic, 
now  in  its  twenty-third  year  of  existence,  not  only  has  out- 
lived the  two  previous  ones,  but  seems  to  be  quite  firmly 
established  for  many  years  to  come,  after  having  so  successfully 
overcome  the  treacherous  abandonment  of  her  former  allies, 


CAVEAT   P ATRIA. 

the  open  hostility  of  the  surrounding  monarchies,  the  aspira- 
tions and  intrigues  of  the  different  pretenders  to  their  former 
thrones,  the  ill  will  of  the  upper  clergy  until  lately,  the  dis- 
turbances of  anarchists,  socialists  and  strikers,  and  last,  but 
not  by  any  means  least,  the  incapacity  and  insatiable  ambition 
of  a  portion  of  her  political  factors.  But  now  France  has  over- 
come nearly  all  these  obstacles  and  impediments,  her  army 
and  navy  are  of  the  most  powerful  of  any  country  on  earth, 
and  the  past  has  been  a  wholesome  and  lasting  lesson  for  that 
much-praised  and  much-abused  nation,  by  which  she  will 
surely  profit  in  future. 


Liberty,  Fraternity,  Equality*  is  the  device  of  the  French 
Republic.  The  first  and  last  of  these  three  sublime  words  are 
referred  to  in  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence,  but 
no  mention  is  made  of  "  fraternity  "  for  some  reason  or  other. 
The  unanimous  declaration  of  the  thirteen  United  States  of 
North  America  on  the  memorable  4th  of  July,  1776,  is  consid- 
ered the  birthday  of  the  existence  of  this  great  Republic, 
although  the  Constitution  was  not  adopted  until  eleven  years 
later.  The  unheard-of  development,  extension  and  wonderful 
progress  achieved  by  the  new  republic,  the  first  one  founded 
on  the  American  continent,  are  matters  of  record,  and  every 
child  learns  of  them  at  school.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1876, 
the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  independence  was  celebrated 
with  great  pomp  and  universal  rejoicing  by  the  then  fifty 
millions  of  inhabitants;  and  well  might  that  glorious  centen- 
nial anniversary  have  been  greeted  with  such  demonstrations 
of  joy,  because  the  country  had  risen  to  the  pinnacle  of 
power,  renown,  and  material  prosperity, — peace  within,  peace 
without,  and  abundance  on  all  sides.  Since  then  hardly 
eighteen  years  have  passed  into  eternity,  and  the  change  they 
have  brought  is  all  the  more  remarkable,  as  there  is  no  appar- 
ent reason  or  cause  for  such  a  decline.  There  have  been  but 
few  national  calamities  that  were  not  speedily  remedied  by 
charitable  aid  in  money  and  material.  There  have  been  no 
serious  epidemics,  no  serious  floods  or  riots  or  droughts. 
There  has  been  no  foreign  war,  no  failure  of  crops  nor  lack  of 


CAVEAT   P ATRIA.  7 

"grub;"  and  yet  the  United  States  have  but  recently  passed 
through  and  in  fact  are  still  in  the  thrall  of  a  most  disastrous 
and  incomprehensible  monetary,  industrial  and  agricultural 
crisis.  What  are  the  causes  of  this  condition  of  affairs  in  the 
vastest,  richest  and  most  prosperous  of  all  countries  on  earth 
the  country  that  has  so  often  been  termed  "God's  coun- 
try ?  ' '  We  will  endeavor  to  study  the  question  with  the 
kind  and  well-disposed  reader,  and  give  our  humble  opinion, 
which  will  be  found  by  all  impartial  people  about  correct. 

When  the  population  of  the  original  thirteen  States  that 
composed  the  Union  in  1787  amounted  but  to  a  few  millions, 
the  Constitution  then  adopted  was  entirely  appropriate  for  the 
conditions  then  existing ;  in  fact  it  was  a  masterpiece  of 
legislation  framed  by  men  of  genius,  sincerity,  honorability, 
and,  above  all,  by  men  inspired  by  true  and  noble  patriotism  ! 
The  first  signature  on  the  document  is  that  of  the  immortal 
George  Washington  !  a  guarantee  of  perfection  in  itself. 
In  after  years  the  necessity  of  amending  the  venerable 
Constitution  became  apparent,  and  a  number  of  articles  were 
added  to  it  at  different  periods.  Still  more  ought  to  be  done  in 
this  direction.  The  corruption  in  politics,  business  transac- 
tions and  even  family  life  seems  to  have  rendered  further 
alterations  a  most  imperious  necessity. 

After  the  close  of  the  great  war  of  the  Rebellion  we  find  that 
the  primitive  simplicity  of  our  governmental  action,  our  foreign 
policy,  business  methods,  family  relations,  and  the  even  ways 
of  our  daily  pursuits,  had  undergone  a  complete  change, — a 
change  decidedly  for  the  worse.  The  immense  hosts  licensed 
from  both  the  Federal  and  Confederate  armies  quietly  and 
modestly  returned  again  to  private  life  and  their  ordinary 
pursuits,  thus  presenting  to  the  world  the  wonderful  example 
of  the  actors  of  one  of  the  greatest  wars  in  history  retiring  as 
suddenly  from  the  scene  of  their  glorious  activity  as  they  had 
been  called  on  it ;  and  men  who  were  chiefs  in  command  of  tens, 
nay,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  troops  for  years  were  not  at  all 
ashamed  to  accept  modest  government  and  civil  situations, 
some  even  becoming  teachers  in  colleges.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  evil  result  of  the  mighty  and  gigantic  struggle  for  the 
preservation  of  the  old  glorious  Union  was  the  formation  of 


8  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

trusts,  corporations  and  syndicates  for  the  concentration,  in  a 
few  greedy,  grasping,  insatiable  hands,  of  nearly  every  branch 
of  industry,  trade,  manufacture,  and  especially  that  of  trans- 
portation by  steam  and  rail.  Already  the  progress  and  per- 
fection of  modern  invention,  machinery  and  scientific  contri- 
vances and  process  had  deprived  thousands  of  working  men  and 
artisans  of  their  livelihood,  and  caused  other  thousands  to  toi1 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  in  order  to  earn  their  daily  bread, 
leaving  alone  butter. 

Immense  fortunes  were  accumulated,  speculation  became  the 
dominant  passion,  not  only  of  those  cormorants  whose  nefarious 
calling  it  was,  but  also  of  profane  outsiders  who  in  former 
times  did  not  even  dream  of  investing  or  risking  their  capital 
or  their  hard-earned  savings  in  any  but  their  ordinary  legit- 
imate business  enterprises.  The  former  comparative  equality 
of  nearly  all  classes  has  disappeared,  and  we  have  at  present : 
first,  the  more  or  less  arrogant,  conceited  capitalist,  the  so-called 
railroad  magnate,  the  haughty  banker,  forming  a  small  but  all- 
powerful  head  class ;  second,  the  middle  classes,  laboring 
under  great  difficulties  on  account  of  the  public  financial  dis- 
order, unfair  tariffs  and  heavy  taxation  ;  and  third,  the  poor, 
down-trodden  and  shamefully  treated  working  classes,  who 
seem  to  be  considered  by  their  self-styled  superiors  as  no  better 
than  the  pariahs  of  India. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  a  most  bitter  feeling  has  been  brought 
about  by  the  diametrically  opposed  interests  and  pretensions 
of  the  different  classes  of  society  as  they  exist  at  present  in 
this  country,  and  we  cannot  blame  the  laboring  classes,  the 
most  deserving  of  all,  to  give  vent  to  their  dissatisfaction  by 
public  demonstrations  and  strikes  ;  they  have  no  other 
recourse.  In  former  days  there  were  noble  hearts,  admirable 
philanthropists, — men  like  Stephen  Girard,  George  Peabody, 
James  I^ick  and  many  others,  who  made  splendid  use  of  their 
lawfully  acquired  millions  by  founding  and  endowing  hospitals, 
cottages,  dwellings  for  the  poor,  public  baths,  orphan  asylums, 
observatories,  scientific  institutes,  and  made  many  other  gen- 
erous donations.  What  have  we  nowadays  ?  Men  who  make 
themselves  infamous  by  their  exclamation,  "  The  people  be 
d /  "  Is  there  not  a  most  striking  contrast  between  the 


CAVEAT    PATRIA.  9 

narrow-minded,  shoddy  upstart  and  millionaire,  which  in  this 
country  of  the  almighty  dollar  and  the  golden  calf,  strange  to 
say,  means  "men  of  brains,"  and  the  so-much  assailed  and 
reviled  aristocracy  of  old  Europe,  whom  the  former  are  trying 
to  monkey  and  imitate  with  such  poor  success  ?  The  difference 
is  simply  this :  The  European  nobleman  and  man  of  fortune, 
with  but  rare  exceptions,  lives  up  to  his  income :  he  keeps  a 
host  of  servants,  flunkeys  and  retainers ;  he  is  ostentatious, 
and  withal  refined  and  gentlemanly ;  he  entertains  his  friends ; 
he  keeps  a  large  establishment,  supports  tradesmen  in  every 
line,  and  thus  freely  circulates  the  income  derived  from  his 
estate  or  capital,  whether  inherited  or  acquired  by  himself. 
The  American  capitalist  sits  in  his  office,  figures  and  calculates 
and  schemes  and  devises  by  what  means,  foul  or  fair,  he  can 
increase  his  pile.  Were  it  not  for  the  luxurious  wives  and 
daughters  and  some  spendthrift  sons,  who  often  manage  to 
divert  a  considerable  portion  of  that  pile,  there  would  be  no 
end  to  accumulation. 

As  soon  as  our  millionaires  have  become  such,  they  usually 
sneak  off  to  some  other  place  where  they  are  less  known  and 
less  despised,  or  go  abroad  to  spend  their  plunder  in  foreign 
countries,  instead  of  giving  their  countrymen  and  neighbors  at 
home  some  benefit  of  their  wealth.  No  man  on  earth  can 
become  the  owner  of  a  million  of  dollars  or  more  by  fair,  honor- 
able and  legitimate  means,  except  by  inheritance  ;  even  then 
the  origin  of  such  millions  is  generally  dubious.  If  a  man  makes 
a  million,  that  million  must  come  out  of  somebody's  pocket, 
unless  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth  through  the  hard  labor  of 
his  fellow-men,  the  miners. 

We  very  seldom  find  conscientious  scruples  like  those  of  the 
Duke  of  Galliera,  a  Genoese  nobleman  and  a  medical  graduate 
of  the  University  of  Paris,  some  twenty  years  ago,  who  refused 
point  blank  to  take  possession  of  the  twenty  millions  left  by  his 
parents,  because  he  had  done  nothing  whatever  to  earn  or 
deserve  such  an  immense  fortune.  We  often  see  parents  dis- 
own and  disinherit  their  sons,  but  the  case  is  rare  indeed 
where  the  son  disowns  the  father,  especially  when  that  father 
quits  this  world  leaving  several  millions  behind  him.  Quite 
recently  a  member  of  the  local  Government  Board  of  London, 


10  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

son  and  heir  of  the  proprietor  of  one  of  the  largest  breweries 
in  London,  refused  his  inheritance  on  account  of  ' '  teetotalism;" 
another  scion  of  an  English  baronet,  likewise  owner  of  an 
immense  brewery,  declined  his  share  of  the  paternal  estate, 
worth  at  least  one  million  pounds  sterling,  because  the  money 
had  been  made  by  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  ' '  intoxicating 
drink."  Here  we  have  for  once  men  who  are  sincere  in  their 
convictions. 

The  fact  of  so  many  wealthy  Americans  going  to  Europe, 
not  simply  to  study,  travel  and  enjoy  themselves  temporarily, 
but  actually  to  reside  there  permanently,  contributes  not  a 
little  to  the  outflow  of  our  gold  to  foreign  countries,  for  which 
nothing  is  brought  in  return.  Their  daughters  lay  traps  for 
and  marry  more  or  less  impecunious  princes,  marquises,  counts 
and  barons,  whose  coats  of  arms  are  thus  regilt.  Few  of 
these  marriages  prove  to  be  permanent  and  happj',  not 
so  much  on  account  of  the  alleged  neglect  and  ill  treat- 
ment of  the  wives  by  their  noble  husbands,  but  chiefly 
on  account  of  the  craze  of  our  women  for  divorce  after  a  few 
years  of  married  life  with  one  man.  This,  indeed,  is  one  of 
the  greatest  evils  to  be  found  in  this  great  country  :  ' '  Mar- 
riage and  divorce,"  as  easy  to  contract  as  to  dissolve  ;  a  mat- 
ter of  a  few  hours'  reflection  and  a  few  paltry  dollars. 
Marriage  has  become  a  mere  farce  of  late  years.  It  is  entered 
into  without  any  previous  proper  courtship,  almost  without 
any  legal  restrictions  ;  without  the  consent  of  parents  or  guar- 
dians ;  in  defiance  of  public  and  private  opinion  ;  without  due 
reflection,  and  with  the  previous  mental  reservation  of  severing 
the  marriage  tie  as  soon  as  convenient,  if  not  necessary. 
Family  life  is  thus  disrupted  almost  continuously.  The  family 
is  the  prime  factor  of  the  community,  and  consequently  of  the 
State.  Nowadays  we  find  but  few  families  whose  members 
live  together  in  peace  and  harmony,  who  adhere  to  each 
other,  protect  each  other,  and  form  a  strong  nucleus  to  enjoy 
weal  and  -combat  woe.  The  children,  if  not  kept  in  a  state  of 
subjection  by  the  prospect  and  hope  of  inheriting,  neither  love 
nor  respect  their  parents,  quit  the  paternal  hearth  before 
they  are  of  age,  get  married  without  due  sanction,  and  abandon 
father  and  mother  in  order  to  establish  themselves  on  an 


CAVEAT   PATRIA.  11 

exclusively  egotistical  basis.  There  are,  of  course,  many  and 
even  brilliant  exceptions, — ' '  exceptio  regulam  constat. ' '  There 
is  no  rule  without  exception,  except  this  very  rule  itself.  We 
desire  it  to  be  expressly  understood  that,  in  all  the  general 
accusations  and  scathing  criticisms  preferred  in  this  little  book, 
we  always  beg  to  refer  to  this  rule ;  otherwise  we  would  be 
unjust  toward  many  deserving  people.  We  shall  return  to  the 
subject  of  marriage,  divorce,  etc.,  in  the  second  chapter. 

Some  prominent  man,  returning  to  this  country  from  an 
extended  trip  to  Europe,  said  that  every  American  attaining 
his  age,  and  possessed  of  sufficient  means  to  do  so,  ought  to 
visit  Europe  ' '  in  order  to  learn  something. ' '  That  man  was 
right.  Although  we  can  teach  the  old  Europeans  a  great 
many  things,  we  can,  on  the  other  hand,  learn  a  great  deal 
from  them,  especially  in  the  way  of  public  buildings,  bridges, 
streets,  police,  railroad  and  steamer  travel,  courtesy  and  polished 
manners  in  public  and  in  private.  Even  many  a  fruitful  lesson 
can  we  derive  from  the  Spanish- American  republics  so  much 
decried  by  ignorant  and  prejudiced  Americans,  especially  from 
the  neighboring  United  States  of  Mexico,  where  the  judicial 
system,  for  instance,  is  by  far  superior  to  ours  ;  where  the 
family  life  exists  in  its  primitive  purity  and  excellence ;  and 
where  the  children,  even  after  attaining  old  age,  invariably 
revere,  love  and  respect  their  parents,  be  they  even  assassins 
and  robbers.  Urbanity,  too,  can  we  learn  from  our  Span- 
ish neighbors, — refined  manners  and  exquisite  politeness. 

Immigration  from  Europe  is  what  populated  America  in  the 
first  place  after  the  discovery.  The  United  States,  soon  after 
peace  had  been  restored  in  1814,  became  the  objective  point 
of  those  who  were  unfortunate  and  persecuted  in  Europe. 
Emigrants  came  in  limited  numbers  by  sailing  vessels  up  to 
1848,  when  steam  transportation  became  more  general;  and 
mighty  hosts,  coming  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands  each 
succeeding  year,  soon  filled  up  the  East  and  West  to  such  an 
extent  that  there  are  too  many  souls  already  in  many  dis- 
tricts. Immigration  must  be  greatly  restricted  if  not  stopped 
entirely.  Who  is  benefited  by  this  influx  of  the  foreigners  ? 
Not  the  United  States  in  general,  but  the  steamship  and  rail- 
road companies  and  the  speculating  land-grabbers.  The  great 


12  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

Alexander  von  Humboldt  says  in  one  of  his  famous  volumes 
on  America,  "  The  fewer  inhabitants  in  a  district,  the  greater 
is  the  individual  felicity.' '  Instead  of  crowding  together  in 
the  already  excessively  populated  large  cities,  the  settling 
down  in  these  ought  to  be  made  difficult  by  local  legislation 
of  an  exclusive  tendency.  The  people  ought  to  be  induced  to 
found  smaller  towns  in  the  vacant  and  thinly  settled  portions 
of  the  country. 

In  this  connection  we  cannot  refrain  from  commenting  on 
the  manner  in  which  public  lands  have  been  disposed  of  by  the 
United  States  Government,  especially  of  late  years.  It  is  well 
enough  to  sell  actual,  bonafide  settlers  160  acres  of  land  each  at 
a  reasonable  price,  conferring  on  such  settler  and  his  descen- 
dants the  perpetual  right  of  possession  as  long  as  he  or  they 
live  on  the  land  they  purchased  ;  but  he  should  not  have  the 
right  to  sell  or  otherwise  dispose  of  it  to  other  parties ;  and, 
in  the  event  of  the  settler  and  his  family  removing  from  the 
land,  it  should  revert  to  the  Government,  to  be  assigned  to 
some  new  occupant.  No  land,  in  fact,  whether  city  lots  or 
agricultural  tracts,  should  be  sold  by  anybody  to  any  one,  the 
Government  alone  having  the  power  and  authority  to  lease 
the  lots  or  tracts  to  actual  occupants,  who  require  the  same 
for  dwelling,  manufacturing,  or  agricultural  purposes.  Every- 
thing on  God's  earth  is  movable  and  salable,  except  the 
earth  itself,  which  belongs  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  globe, 
and  cannot  be  removed  from  one  place  to  another.  Its  corre- 
sponding ground  rental  would  be  payable  to  the  Government 
instead  of  to  the  so-called  landlord. 

The  introduction  and  organization  of  this  radical  system  of 
holding  city  and  rural  land  as  a  fief  seems  fraught  with 
enormous  difficulties  at  first  sight,  but  upon  closer  inspection 
it  is  simple  enough,  especially  if  we  start  from  the  fundamental 
principle  that  no  man  can  sell  or  dispose  of  his  land,  and  that 
he  forfeits  his  rights  to  it  the  moment  he  removes  away  or 
does  not  need  it  any  more  for  his  original  purposes.  A  man 
may  have  his  house  gilt  inside  and  outside,  full  of  precious 
stones  and  other  valuables  :  it  does  not  interfere  with  the 
happiness  or  comfort  or  sustenance  of  his  neighbor  in  any 
way  ;  but  if  that  man  should,  besides  his  movable  treasures, 


CAVEAT   PATRIA.  13 

own  and  occupy  a  thousand  acres  of  land  and  his  neighbors 
but  one-tenth  of  an  acre  apiece,  then  there  would  be  manifest 
injury  and  injustice  in  the  abnormal  quantity  of  land  owned 
by  the  rich  man.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  intro- 
duction of  laws  abolishing  the  right  to  sell  and  otherwise 
dispose  of  God's  earth,  and  establishing  the  equitable  and 
rational  relation  of  Government  leases,  would  very  soon  bring 
about  that  general  welfare  and  individual  happiness  so  much 
desired  by  philanthropists  and  benefactors  of  mankind, — of 
course  to  the  dismay  and  detriment  of  large  landholders,  heart- 
less, unscruplous  speculators,  and  the  many  sycophants  attached 
to  them  by  interest. 

On  no  account  should  the  land  purloined  from  the  unfortu- 
nate Indian  in  Oklahoma  and  the  Cherokee  strip  have  been 
sold  to  any  one,  but  simply  leased  to  the  settlers  on  condition 
that  they  should  not  sell  or  assign  the  land  thus  occupied.  All 
the  shameful  and  degrading  scenes  of  that  invasion  of  the 
"  Huns  and  Goths  "  would  then  have  been  avoided. 

In  the  midst  of  the  mad  rush  just  mentioned,  and  the 
iniquitous  acquisition  and  holding  of  the  lands  belonging  to 
God's  earth,  it  is  very  gratifying  indeed  that  the  Federal 
Government  has  of  late  years  inaugurated  a  system  of 
national  parks,  thus  protecting  at  least  a  small  portion  of  the 
national  domain  from  the  greed  of  land-grabbers,  shameless 
speculators,  and  the  no  less  dangerous  and  destructive  pro- 
clivities of  the  enemies  of  our  forests  and  streams.  Nature 
has  provided  forests  in  certain  districts,  and  left  others  almost, 
if  not  entirely,  bare  of  trees  and  even  shrubs.  It  is  not  only 
one  of  the  most  sacred  duties  of  our  Government  to  carefully 
guard  and  protect  the  forests  still  existing,  but  to  provide  for 
the  laying  out  and  planting  of  forests  where  there  are  none 
and  where  they  are  needed.  This  cannot  be  accomplished  by 
weak  and  desultory  laws,  but  only  by  stringent  measures, 
prompt  trial,  heavy  fines  and  imprisonment,  the  custody  of 
the  forests,  parks  and  reservations  being  intrusted  to  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  guards  under  due  supervision.  In  this  respect, 
too,  we  can  learn  a  great  deal  from  the  European  system 
of  forestry  entirely  controlled  by  the  State,  and  which  is  as 
poetical  as  it  is  strict  and  beneficial.  Not  a  stick  of  dead 


14  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

wood  can  be  picked  up,  not  a  tree  cut  down,  in  fact  nothing 
touched  except  by  permission  from  the  Government.  Forestry 
is  practically  a  science  to  be  acquired  by  years  of  study  in  the 
corresponding  Government  institute,  from  which  the  future 
forest  employees  graduate  to  enter  on  their  interesting,  highly 
poetical  career,  that  brings  them  in  daily  contact  with  the 
admirable  workings  and  wonders  of  Nature.  In  a  like  manner 
game,  especially  the  feathered  tribes,  God's  favorite  and  most 
useful  and  perfect  creatures,  could  be  under  the  exclusive 
control  and  protection  of  the  Federal  authorities,  the  same  as 
the  fish  ;  for  man  in  his  ignorance  and  rapacity  will  kill  and 
destroy  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,  leaving  alone  his  necessities. 
After  thousands  of  years  of  attempts  at  civilization,  man,  the 
so-called  most  perfect  creature  in  the  world,  is  little  better 
than  the  original  savage, — only  to  be  kept  in  check  and  order 
by  the  fear  of  retribution  and  punishment  such  as  are  meted 
out  by  the  law. 

Before  the  great  war  of  the  Rebellion  the  country  was  divided 
into  two  great  parties  (not  counting  the  minor  factions),  the 
Democratic  and  the  Republican  party,  the  latter  containing  a 
hidden  spark  of  the  former  Knownothing  party,  all  that  has 
been  said  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  Both  the  Repub- 
lican and  the  Democratic  party  were  useful,  if  not  necessary,  in 
their  time,  perhaps  before  the  war,  and  most  assuredly  for 
several  years  after  its  close,  until  the  South  had  become  rec- 
onciled to  the  new  order  of  things.  For  some  time  past, 
however,  and  especially  of  late  years,  the  terms  ' '  Republican ' ' 
and  "Democrat,"  already  synonymous  in  themselves,  have 
become  an  anachronism.  The  utility  and  original  purpose  of 
these  two  factions  in  our  great  country  have  long  since  ceased 
to  exist,  and  it  is  but  an  illusion  to  believe  that  the  platforms 
raised  by  them  at  the  time  of  the  elections  for  President  and 
Congress  differ  in  any  but  insignificant  points  ;  in  fact  they 
are  almost  identical  in  principle,  though  differing  somewhat  in 
text.  With  the  exception  of  the  tariff,  monetary  and  taxation 
questions,  the  whole  aim  and  object  of  each  party  is  to  struggle 
for  the  possession  of  office.  These  periodical  commotions  all 
over  this  vast  land  are  alike  detrimental  to  the  welfare  of  the 
nation  and  the  individual  citizen,  very  undignified  and  often 


CAVEAT   P ATRIA.  15 

disgraceful  when  they  are  accompanied  by  the  usual  slander, 
libel  and  accusations  of  the  candidates,  and  crowned  by  the 
inevitable  abuses  and  excesses  of  a  fanatical  or  venal  press. 
The  former  political  parties  and  the  more  recent  milk  and  water 
Populist  faction  should  be  relegated  to  the  background  as 
things  of  the  past,  and  a  new,  vigorous,  sincerely  patriotic  and 
honest  party  arise  like  a  phoenix  from  their  ashes  : — \h^  Reform 
party,  which  must  make  it  a  point,  with  unflinching  fortitude, 
and  in  spite  of  all  opposition,  to  elect  men  to  Congress  and  to 
the  State  assemblies  who  are  not  only  willing  but  competent  to 
propose  and  form  into  stringent  laws  the  great,  indispensable 
reforms  by  which  alone  this  great  and  glorious  Republic  can 
be  preserved  for  our  descendants  as  we  inherited  it  from  our 
forefathers,  instead  of  undergoing  a  premature  decline  and 
disruption,  which  would  otherwise  be  its  inevitable  fate. 

Our  laws  are  inefficient,  in  many  respects  nonsensical  and 
conflicting.  In  former  years,  as  far  back  as  the  fifties,  all 
troubles  of  a  private  as  well  as  political  nature  were  promptly 
settled  by  the  courts,  and  their  decisions  accepted  and  respected 
by  high  and  low.  Such  is  not  at  present  the  case.  There  is 
no  longer  any  justice,  no  end  to  litigation  ;  not  even  after  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  has  rendered  a  decision  is  the 
struggle  ended,  as  we  have  witnessed  it  of  late  to  our  sorrow 
and  regret.  By  thus  sapping  the  very  foundations  of  society, 
and  of  the  Government  that  ought  to  be  the  most  perfect  in  the 
world,  but  is  not,  we  will  surely  accomplish  their  irretrievable 
ruin.  "  Mene,  Mene,  Tekel,  Upharsin  !  "  we  must  again  ex- 
claim, though  the  quotation  is  over  three  thousand  years  old. 
There  is,  moreover,  an  unfortunate  conflict  of  authority,  and 
no  last  and  final  recourse  to  look  to  for  a  settlement  of  these 
frequent  conflicts.  It  is  often  said,  by  those  who  pretend  to 
know,  that  State  and  judicial  matters  in  Europe  have  arrived 
at  their  present  comparative  state  of  perfection,  when  compared 
with  ours,  because  Europe  has  attained  such  results  after  many 
centuries  of  experiments.  Why  should  not  we  Americans, 
after  one  hundred  years  of  uninterrupted  freedom  and  pros- 
perity, such  as  had  not  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  nation  on  earth 
heretofore,  have  accomplished  just  as  much  and  even  more? 
We  have  produced  statesmen  second  to  none  in  any  country 


16  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

for  their  talent  and  integrity,  but  of  late  years  everything  has 
been  sacrificed  to  party  politics  and  private  interests,  and  now 
a  complete  cleaning  out  of  the  Augean  stables  has  become  a 
paramount  necessity.  It  is  these  unfavorable  comparisons  of 
our  rotten  systems  and  institutions  that  have  inclined  many  of 
our  citizens  to  look  with  more  favor  on  monarchical  institutions 
than  on  our  time-honored  democratic  ways.  The  writer  was 
present  at  a  social  event  in  Washington,  and  to  his  utter  sur- 
prise had  to  hear  one  of  the  highest  American  ladies  in 
Washington  society  say  ' '  that  a  monarchy  is  so  much  nicer 
than  a  republic  !"  His  reply  was,  "  Madam,  Macchiavelli, 
the  greatest  statesman  of  his  age,  and  the  servant  and  adorer 
of  princes,  was  of  a  contrary  opinion  when  he  declared  frankly 
that  the  worst  republic  was  still  preferable  to  the  finest 
monarchy  !  " 

The  inaptitude  and  torpid  ill  will  of  our  legislation  has 
been  shown  in  the  most  striking  manner  lately,  when  Con- 
gress was  convened  for  the  sole  purpose  of  providing  ways  and 
means  to  stave  off  national  financial  disaster  and  to  solve 
the  monetary  crisis.  With  a  hundred  millions  in  gold  and 
nearly  two  hundred  millions  in  coined  and  bar  silver  in  the 
vaults  of  the  Treasury,  money  was  scarce,  and  general  distrust 
made  mercantile  relations  among  our  people  extremely  diffi- 
cult. The  question,  difficult  as  it  was  and  still  is,  could  have 
been  solved  in  a  couple  of  weeks ;  but  party  wrangling,  private 
interests,  and  those  of  the  banking  fraternity,  were  more  import- 
ant to  our  legislators  than  the  welfare  of  the  people  at  large ; 
and  so  we  witnessed  the  humiliating  spectacle  of  Congress 
fooling  away  three  eternal  months  in  ridiculous,  sophistical 
debates  and  superflous  oratory. 

A  little  more,  than  eighteen  months  ago  Congress  found  it 
expedient  to  pass  a  law  requiring  all  Chinese  residents, 
with  a  few  exceptions,  to  register  their  names,  with  personal 
descriptions  and  photographs,  and  to  procure  certificates 
entitling  them  to  sojourn  in  the  United  States.  There  was 
absolutely  nothing  whatever  in  the  provisions  of  this  law 
to  offend  the  susceptibilities  of  the  Chinese  residents,  nor  did 
they  intend  to  impose  the  slightest  hardship  on  them.  Our 
Government  was  even  generous  enough  not  to  charge  any 


CAVEAT   PATRIA.  17 

fee  whatever  for  this  registration  and  corresponding  certificate, 
whilst  it  would  have  been  fully  justified  in  collecting  a  dollar 
apiece  from  the  Chinese.  The  way  in  which  this  decree  of 
our  Government  has  been  received  and  treated  is  a  matter  of 
history,  even  after  the  Supreme  Court  had  pronounced  it  law- 
ful and  constitutional !  The  fact  of  the  wily  Chinese  refusing 
to  submit  to  such  a  simple,  harmless  law,  that  was  devised 
and  framed  for  their  own  protection,  was  a  deadly  insult  to  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  not  so  much  on  the  part  of 
the  ignorant  and  common  coolie  laborer  as  from  their  gov- 
erning companies,  who  insolently  and  arrogantly  forbade 
their  slaves  to  register,  and  carried  their  unjust  and  ridiculous 
protest  to  the  highest  tribunal  of  the  country.  Again  our 
Government  displayed  its  forebearance,  a  great  weakness 
under  all  circumstances,  and  granted  an  extension  of  six 
months.  The  Chinese  contribute  but  little  to  the  support  of 
the  Federal  Government,  and  it  would  only  have  been  an  act 
of  well-deserved  retribution  had  the  Chinese  been  mulcted  in 
the  sum  of  two  dollars  apiece  for  their  delay  in  procuring  the 
certificates,  which  were  at  first  offered  them  free  of  charge. 

One  of  the  main  causes  of  the  present  crisis  must  be  traced 
back  to  the  Chinese  invasion  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  We  will 
not  at  this  time  dilate  on  the  dangers  and  evils  to  the  nation 
of  such  an  influx  of  the  Mongolians  on  our  shores,  of  their 
absolute  incompatibility  of  character  with  the  white  man,  of 
their  vices  and  manners  and  customs,  of  their  antagonism  to  a 
republican  form  of  government,  which  they  will  never  be  able 
to  appreciate,  of  their  maintaining  their  own  independent 
tribunals  of  justice,  which  even  sentence  offenders  against 
their  ukases  to  death,  and  place  a  price  on  their  heads  like  the 
mysterious  Italian  mania,  of  their  immorality  and  loathsome 
diseases,  and  of  the  bitter  feeling  that  has  been  engendered 
against  them  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  These  are  matters 
upon  which  innumerable  public  speeches  have  been  made  and 
barrels  of  ink  expended,  to  the  extent  that  every  well-mean- 
ing man,  woman  and  child  is  now  fully  posted  on  the  nefarious 
subject ;  but  we  must  be  permitted,  for  the  sake  of  argument 
from  a  financial  standpoint,  to  mention  here  that  the  nomadic 
and  unsteady  Chinese  population  has  cost  this  country 


18  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

something  like  eight  hundred  millions  of  dollars  in  United 
States  gold  and  silver  coin  taken  and  sent  by  them  to  China, 
not  a  cent  of  which  will  ever  return  to  this  country,  leaving 
alone  the  grievous  injury  done  the  white  laborer,  male  and 
female,  by  their  ruinous  competition  and  lower  rates  of  wages. 
Here  we  have  a  downright  national  calamity,  a  sheer  loss  of 
eight  hundred  millions  in  coin !  It  could  have  been  averted  in 
part  if  Congress  had  listened  in  time  to  the  loud  and  vehement 
complaints  of  our  statesmen  and  the  immense  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  But  no  !  The  absurd  senti- 
mentality of  our  Eastern  fellow-citizens,  the  protests  of  sectarian 
clergymen,  and  the  incomprehensible  apathy  of  Congress, 
coupled  with  the  intrigues  and  presumable  bribery  on  the  part 
of  the  transportation  companies,  weighed  heavier  in  the  scales, 
and  relief  came  too  late. 

As  if  we  had  not  trouble  and  difficulties  enough  with  the 
eight  millions  of  colored  people  living  among  us,  also  debarred 
from  mixing  with  the  white  portion  of  the  country,  unscrupu- 
lous schemers,  and  reckless,  unpatriotic  companies,  must  needs 
go  to  Asia,  and  for  the  sake  of  passage  money  and  freight 
earnings,  under  the  pretext  of  trade  and  traffic,  drag  forth  the 
yellow  heathen,  induce  Congress  to  make  treaties,  receive  the 
invading  hordes  with  open  arms,  and  accomplish  the  ruin  of 
God's  favored  spot  on  earth.  Never  in  the  history  of  the 
world  has  there  been  a  case  where  the  accredited  diplomatic 
representative  of  a  nation,  and  a  great  and  powerful  nation  at 
that,  resigned  his  honorable  position  and  returned  to  his  own 
country  as  the  ambassador  of  the  other  country  !  This  abnor- 
mity had  to  be  perpetrated  by  an  American  citizen,  and  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  !  Upon  his  return,  more- 
over, and  to  fitly  crown  the  extraordinary  unheard-of  occur- 
rence, the  man  was  feasted  and  glorified  by  a  shortsighted 
people,  who  have  since  had  good  caused  for  feeling  mortified. 

The  great  danger  of  the  Chinese  nation  is  their  enormous 
number.  Four  hundred  millions  of  human  beings,  one-third 
part  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  planet,  is  no  trifle  ;  here  is  a 
backing,  and  well  are  they  aware  of  it.  We  must  admire  the 
Chinese  withal.  Here  we  have  a  civilization  of  four  thousand 
years ;  their  records  date  back  that  far,  and,  for  all  we  know, 


CAVEAT    PATfclA.  19 

theirs  may  be  the  true  civilization,  though  we  of  the  Caucasian 
race  pretend  to  be  superior  to  them.  God  has  placed  these  four 
hundred  millions  of  beings  in  the  eastern  part  of  Asia :  they 
have  slowly  developed  into  their  present  condition  and  dense 
population ;  they  themselves  decline  all  intercourse  with 
other  nations  ;  protected  by  the  ocean  on  two  sides,  they  built 
an  immense  fortified  wall  on  their  northern  frontier  thousands 
of  miles  long,  and  wide  enough  to  allow  sixteen  horsemen  to 
ride  abreast  on  the  battlement.  This  wall,  now  partly  in 
ruins,  should  be  built  up  again,  and  the  Chinese  Empire 
blockaded  by  sea,  so  as  to  cut  off  all  intercourse  with  other 
nations.  The  British  first  encroached  on  Chinese  territory  by 
sea,  and  forced  that  country  at  the  mouth  of  their  cannon  to 
trade  with  them  and  purchase  and  consume  that  deadly  drug, 
opium.  Other  nations  in  the  course  of  time  followed  the 
British  example,  and  invaded  the  Celestial  Empire  with  their 
shiploads  of  merchandise.  The  Chinese  resisted  with  all 
their  power  for  many  years,  but  were  finally  forced  to  make 
treaties  with  France  and  England,  after  these  two  combined 
powers  had  defeated  them  in  several  battles,  taken  their 
capital  of  Pekin,  and  sacked  and  burned  the  imperial  palace. 
The  United  States  came  in  later  to  share  the  spoils  of 
commerce  with  China,  and  to  open  their  gates  to  the  mighty 
hosts  of  hungry  Mongols,  who  threatened  at  no  remote 
period  to  overrun  our  whole  country,  and  conquer  it  by  sheer 
numbers.  We  in  return  obtained  the  privilege  of  collecting 
their  passage  and  of  trading  with  a  few  Chinese  ports,  not 
forgetting  that  of  sending  a  number  of  sneaking,  bigoted 
missionaries  under  the  pretext  of  converting  the  Chinese, 
whilst  we  have  so  much  missionary  work  yet  undone  in  our 
own  country.  China  got  along  very  well  with  her  Buddhist 
creed  for  so  many  thousand  years,  and  it  is  simply  cheek 
and  absurd  nonsense  to  pretend  to  convert  them  now  to  the 
Christian  religion.  The  Creator  has  seen  fit  to  place  the 
Mongolian  in  Asia  and  the  negro  in  Africa,  and  there  they 
ought  to  remain.  Since  we  cannot  and  will  not  mix  with 
them,  so  as  to  blend  the  races,  the  Caucasian  ought  to 
leave  these  black  and  tan  breeds  most  solemnly  alone 
to  work  out  their  own  destinies.  Philanthropists  on 


20  CATEAT   PATRIA. 

sentimental  grounds,  hypocrites  on  religious  pretexts,  and 
merchants  on  the  grounds  of  commerce  and  profits,  will  as 
a  matter  of  course  entertain  different  opinions  and  declaim 
violently  against  our  theory,  which  in  spite  of  all  is  the 
true  one.  Speaking  of  American  missionaries  that  go 
abroad  to  convert  other  creeds  to  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  it 
has  been  perverted  and  is  practiced  nowadays,  American 
missionaries,  who  have  the  extraordinar)^  cheek  to  even 
invade  the  territory  of  the  Moslem,  whose  religious  tenets 
are  superior  to  theirs  and  certainly  more  sincerely  observed, 
should  not  be  encouraged,  much  less  protected,  by  our 
Government.  They  must  take  their  own  chances,  and 
become  martyrs  if  they  feel  so  inclined.  We  cannot  afford 
to  have  continual  diplomatic  reclamations  and  controversies 
with  other  nations  on  account  of  a  handful  of  religious 
fools  seeking  notoriety  abroad  ;  the  famous  Monroe  doctrine 
ought  to  be  applied  here  in  an  inverted  sense  ;  it  is  a  poor 
rule  that  does  not  work  both  ways,  and  we  are  sorry  to 
say  that  we  Americans  have  of  late  shown  a  propensity  of 
interfering  with  certain  foreign  affairs,  instead  of  minding 
our  own  business.  The  great  Washington  already  warned 
us  to  observe  the  strictest  neutrality  with  regard  to  the 
affairs  of  other  nations,  and  not  to  interfere  in  any  manner. 
If  the  time  should  come  when  we  are  insulted  or  otherwise 
meddled  with,  then  is  the  proper  moment  to  show  our  claws. 

Supposing  for  a  moment,  as  a  matter  of  hypothesis,  that  all 
Chinamen  should  be  compelled  to  return  to  Asia,  and  all 
Americans  be  expelled  from  China,  as  by  right  they  ought  to 
be;  that  we  should  lose  the  trade  with  China;  that  our  steam- 
ship companies  would  have  to  withdraw  their  ships  from  their 
hitlierto  profitable  line ;  that  we  should  get  no  more  tea, 
silk,  rice,  sugar,  rattan  and  stinkpots ;  what  of  it?  The  tem- 
porary losses  to  corporations  and  individuals  would  be  bal- 
anced and  even  outweighed  by  the  immense  advantage  of  being 
freed  from  the  obnoxious  presence  in  our  midst  of  the  Chinese 
element,  and  the  dangerous  complications  that  are  sure  to 
loom  up  sooner  or  later. 

The  only  product  from  China,  a  favorite  drink  with 
Americans  and  an  indispensable  one  with  Englishmen,  which 


CAVEAT   PATRIA.  21 

we  might  miss,  is  tea  ;  but  even  this  article  could  be  replaced 
by  a  native  American  plant.  The  writer  years  ago  already 
discovered  one  that  surpasses  Chinese  tea  in  delicious  aroma 
and  taste,  and  contains  hardly  any  of  the  astringent  properties 
of  tea,  called  in  chemistry  "  theine."  This  plant  grows 
wild  in  great  quantities,  and  is  of  far  easier  cultivation  ; 
if  introduced  into  commerce,  it  would  soon  drive  out  Chinese 
tea  entirely.  The  higher  grades  of  Chinese  tea  are  very  nice 
to  the  taste  and  not  injurious  to  health  ;  but  what  about  the 
other  grades,  that  have  already  been  boiled  and  used  in  China, 
and  are  adulterated  with  all  kinds  of  strange  stuff  ? 

Before  concluding  with  the  Chinese  topic,  we  cannot  help 
expressing  our  admiration  of  many  superior  advantages  these 
people  have  over  our  so-called  advanced  civilization.  Every 
Chinaman  wears  his  hair  in  the  same  style,  and  the  queue 
has  some  advantages,  although  it  is  an  appendix.  They  have 
a  national  characteristic  costume,  in  every  respect  superior  to 
ours,  varying  but  in  the  quality  of  the  material,  according 
to  the  social  position  of  the  individual.  This  plain  but  not  at 
all  unbecoming  dress  of  men  and  women  in  China  beats  any- 
thing we  Americans  and  Europeans,  in  fact  any  other  nation, 
can  present,  as  far  as  simplicity  and  comfort  are  concerned. 
There  are  no  styles,  no  ever-changing  fashions,  no  absurd 
monkeying  that  which  we  envy  in  others.  When  a  Chinaman 
is  dressed  in  a  new  clean  suit  of  plain  blue  satinet,  his 
thick-soled  felt  shoes,  and  his  neat  skull-cap  surmounted  by 
the  colored  button,  he  looks  by  far  better  and  certainly  less 
ridiculous  than  our  swell  society  men  in  claw-hammer  coats, 
low-cut  vests,  and  the  uncomfortable,  miserable,  stove-pipe  hat. 
How  such  a  head-covering  could  outlive  the  first  novelty  of 
its  appearance  for  even  ten  years  is  as  deep  a  mystery  as 
the  object  of  the  Egyptian  sphinxes. 

Reckless  extravagance  in  dress  and  living,  the  neglect  of 
everything  that  is  reasonable,  sensible  and  of  real  comfort  in 
our  life,  is  another  of  the  causes  of  general  distress.  The  ever- 
changing  fashions  are  productive  of  the  greatest  evils.  Let 
the  husband  and  father  of  a  household  of  limited  means  be 
heard  on  the  subject  and  give  his  sworn  testimony.  A  plain 
sack  coat  or  blouse,  knee-breeches,  and  a  soft  felt  or  straw  hat 


22  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

should  be  the  dress  of  our  men,  and  if  women  would  but  come 
to  their  senses,  cut  off  and  discard  the  long  trains  of  their 
gowns,  adopt  a  fixed,  plain  and  comfortable  dress,  without  any 
leg-of-mutton  sleeves,  collars  rising  over  the  ears,  and  without 
those  ridiculous,  absurd  and  vulgar-looking  feathered  and 
flowered  bonnets,  that  make  them  appear  in  public  like  a  flock 
of  circus  performers,  it  would  be  far  better  for  all  concerned. 
The  waste  of  material  in  this  direction,  by  our  women  especi- 
ally, is  something  immense,  and  should  be  stopped  by  law, 
since  people  will  insist  on  their  folly.  Female  dress  reformers 
have  at  various  times  devised  and  introduced  new  styles  of 
female  apparel, — the  bloomer,  the  divided  skirt,  the  pants 
and  coat  similar  to  men's,  and  other  changes,  one  as  absurd  as 
the  other.  Woman  has  been  created  for  the  skirt,  and  appears 
to  best  advantage  in  its  mysterious  folds,  but  that  skirt  must 
neither  trail  in  the  dust  and  dirt  nor  be  cut  too  short,  nor  be 
overloaded  with  trimmings  and  ornaments,  outraging  good 
taste  and  ethics.  Dress  reform,  we  say,  is  needed  as  much 
as  any  other  improvement  at  present. 

We  would  like  to  see  more  equality  in  the  way  and  manner 
of  dress  and  living  among  our  fellow-citizens,  not  one  to 
inhabit  a  palace,  far  too  large  for  his  use,  the  other  restricted 
to  a  miserable  hovel.  Everybody  ought  to  have  the  same  sub- 
stantial, though  plain  food,  and  everybody  plain  and  comfort- 
able clothing.  Neither  silk  nor  velvet  nor  costly  laces  are  at 
all  needed  to  insure  comfort  and  happiness.  The  narrow- 
minded,  the  vanitous,  the  adorers  of  the  golden  calf,  will 
exclaim  that  legislative  measures  and  restrictions  in  the  way  of 
dwellings  and  dress  would  be  an  infringement  on  individual 
liberty.  Very  well!  but  pray  define  the  term  "liberty." 
We  understand  ' '  liberty  "  to  be  the  faculty  of  every  man  to  do 
and  act  as  he  pleases,  provided  his  doings  and  actions  do  not 
interfere  with  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  his  neighbor!  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  conception  of  "liberty"  is  very 
elastic,  and  depends  mostly  on  prevailing  circumstances.  Any 
man  might  avail  himself  of  his  rights  as  a  free  man  to  walk 
about  naked  on  the  streets,  construct  a  tower  one  thousand  feet 
high  on  a  twenty-foot  basis  in  the  center  of  a  city,  or  drive  in 
a  carriage  with  axles  of  fifteen  feet  in  length  ;  but  he  is 


CAVEAT   PATRTA.  23 

forbidden  by  law  to  do  anything  of  the  kind,  simply  because 
such  fancies  would  interfere  with  the  comfort  and  security  of 
other  people.  Laws  are  as  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of 
order,  security  and  happiness  of  men,  as  are  their  daily  food  and 
water  ;  whether  these  laws  are  dictated  by  a  monarchical  ruler, 
a  tyrant,  or  a  democratic  body  of  legislators,  it  matters  not,  as 
long  as  these  laws  are  just,  equal  for  all,  and  obedience  to  them 
enforced.  Take  a  small  body  of  but  fifty  men,  and  place  them 
together  somewhere  in  an  isolated  region  to  shift  for  them- 
selves without  any  outside  control.  Unless  a  leader  is  chosen 
or  appointed  from  the  very  beginning  to  rule  them  and 
regulate  their  intercourse,  chaos,  anarchy  and  murder  would 
be  sure  to  follow  immediately.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  laws 
for  the  government  of  nations,  cities,  towns  and  villages  have 
been  framed,  and  statutes,  rules  and  regulations  laid  down  for 
all  combinations  and  assemblies  of  men.  These  laws  are 
generally  more  or  less  imperfect,  sometimes  vicious  and 
obnoxious ;  then  they  must  be  altered  or  amended,  a  process 
much  easier  under  a  democratic  form  of  government  than 
under  a  monarchy,  because  a  republic  can  change  its  rulers 
periodically,  and  freedom  of  speech  and  the  press  enable  us  to 
publically  discuss  all  questions  outside  of  the  sacred  precincts 
of  our  legislators. 

There  may  be,  however,  an  excess  and  conflict  of  laws. 
Such  a  condition  of  affairs  has  frequently  occurred  in  the 
history  of  our  little  globe,  and  is  even  now  exemplified  by  our 
own  United  States, — a  very  unfortunate  state  of  public  affairs. 
It  has  brought  about  anarchism,  and  if  not  checked  and  remedied 
very  soon  will  result  in  the  disintegration  of  our  great  Republic. 
The  war  of  the  Rebellion,  or,  if  you  prefer,  of  Secession,  was 
thus  brought  about  by  this  conflict  of  the  laws  of  the  country. 
A  slave  in  the  South  by  law,  a  free  man  in  the  North  by  law, 
and  yet  the  former  law  was  older.  Although  during  the 
great  war,  and  for  some  years  after  its  close,  decidedly  on  the 
Federal  side,  because  we  were  absolutely  opposed  to  a  division 
of  this  great  Republic,  which  would  soon  have  been  followed  by 
further  secessions,  and  the  consequent  destruction  of  one  of  the 
strongest  bulwarks  of  liberty  and  prosperity,  we  have  often 
reflected  of  later  years  that  the  South  not  only  had  a  perfect 


24  CAVEAT   P ATRIA. 

right  to  secede  and  form  a  separate  republic  with  its  own  insti- 
tutions, but  that  the  South  has  been  shamefully  treated  and 
despoiled,  notwithstanding  the  fortunate  result  of  the  great 
struggle,  by  which  the  seceded  States  were  forced  to  remain 
in  the  Union. 

Anarchism,  which  for  the  last  decade  or  so  has  grown, 
developed,  and  raised  its  gory  head  in  Europe  and  in  the 
United  States,  is  a  nasty  thing  to  cope  with.  It  is  not  like  an 
open,  honest  foe,  whose  forces  can  be  numbered,  and  his  plans 
of  campaign  foreseen  and  guarded  against.  In  the  thin  ranks 
of  the  anarchists  it  is  unfortunately  in  the  power  of  one  single 
man  to  prepare  his  deadly  engine,  conceal  it  on  his  body,  and 
discharge  it  at  any  unsuspecting  assembly  of  innocent  and 
harmless  people.  Suppose  the  recreant,  infamous  wretch  is 
caught:  he  is  tried,  condemned  and  executed  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  slayer  of  a  single  individual  in  a  personal  affray. 
The  laws  are  evidently  inadequate  to  uproot,  or  even  to  check, 
this  monstrous  outgrowth  of  the  evils  that  afflict  mankind  in 
the  midst  of  our  so-called  advanced  civilization.  Anarchism 
is  a  relapse  to  the  most  ferocious  kind  of  barbarism,  and  must 
be  met  with  barbaric  measures.  Lightning  trials,  so-called 
drumhead  courtsmartial,  and  immediate,  ignominious  execu- 
tion of  the  culprits,  are  what  is  most  needed.  There  is  no  law 
of  expulsion  and  proscription  in  this  country,  but  the  sooner 
such  a  law  is  framed  the  better  it  will  be  for  public  safety 
in  the  United  States  as  well  as  in  Europe.  Proscription  was 
part  of  the  Roman  and  Greek  legislation;  it  would  be  desirable 
in  our  Republic,  though  exclusively  for  suspected  common 
criminals, — not  political  offenders. 

Socialism  is  comparatively  harmless  when  compared  with 
the  monster  of  anarchism.  The  socialists  profess  to  reorganize 
society  on  the  basis  of  equality  by  reducing  extreme  wealth 
as  well  as  extreme  poverty,  something  like  the  intentions  of 
the  good  King  Henry  IV.  of  France,  who  wanted  every  man  to 
have  a  chicken  in  his  pot  on  Sundays,  and  would  have  carried 
out  his  plan  had  he  not,  like  most  great  and  good  men,  met 
with  a  premature  death  and  fallen  a  victim  to  the  assassin's 
knife.  The  socialists  at  least  endeavor  to  make  propaganda 
by  means  of  speech  and  press,  not  resorting  to  any  acts  of 


CAVEAT   P ATRIA.  25 

violence  unless  these  are  forced  upon  them  in  monarchical 
states,  where  they  certainly  are  a  dangerous  threat  to  the 
existing  institutions,  and  are  frequently  prosecuted,  imprisoned, 
fined,  and  their  meetings  dissolved  by  the  police  under  instruc- 
tions from  their  superiors.  If  the  socialistic  propaganda  should 
finally  succeed,  and  its  dogma  become  prevailing,  it  might  be 
in  the  interest  of  mankind  for  all  we  know. 

Every  observing  mind  is  aware  that  since  the  great  war  in 
these  United  States  of  North  America  there  has  sprung  up, 
like  the  mushrooms  in  the  forest  after  a  warm  rain,  a  certain 
plutocracy,  upstarts  and  imitators  of  all  the  old  time-honored 
European  aristocracy,  that  has  accumulated  immense  wealth 
amounting  to  fabulous  millions,  in  most  cases  of  doubtful,  if 
not  of  criminal,  origin.  This  wealth  is  in  the  hands  of  a  priv- 
ileged few,  and  the  distribution  of  the  good  things  of  life  has 
therefore  become  very  unequal  and  certainly  unreasonable. 
Without  being  a  communist  or  socialist  we  cannot  help  deeply 
to  deplore  such  a  condition  of  financial  matters.  L,et  a  hard- 
working, smart  or  lucky  man  make  a  reasonable  fortune,  retire 
on  it,  and  live  on  his  liberal  income  in  peace  and  quiet  for  the 
rest  of  his  days  on  earth  ;  but  for  heaven's  sake  do  not  take 
all,  hoard  it  up,  deprive  your  fellow-being  of  the  necessaries 
of  life,  and  create  that  spirit  of  restlessness  and  general  dis- 
satisfaction now  prevailing  in  our  country.  Excessive  posses- 
sion of  real  and  personal  property  must  be  prevented  and  limited 
by  law ;  there  is  no  other  remedy.  The  arrogant  and  haughty 
millionaire  of  the  stripe  of  the  one  that  immortalized  himself 

so  ignominiously  by  exclaiming,  "  The  people  be  d /"  when 

some  just  explanations  were  made  to  him,  has  neither  a  knowl- 
edge of  human  miseries,  such  as  are  brought  about  by  abso- 
lute poverty,  nor  does  he  or  she  care  whether  their  neighbors 
live  or  starve.  There  are  of  course  many  and  brilliant  excep- 
tions, an  axiom  we  have  stated  before  ;  but  the  general  class 
of  these  four  hundred  or  three  hundred  or  one  hundred  of  the 
so-called  upper  strata  of  society  enjoy  a  very  unenviable  repu- 
tation. If  it  is  not  the  miserly  propensity  of  a  Harpagon,  if  it  is 
not  haughty  seclusion,  it  is  certainly  either  an  imbecile  desire 
to  be  more  than  they  really  are,  or  to  outdo  and  outshine 
their  own  ilk  by  reckless  extravagance  as  well  as  ridiculous 


26  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

and  stupid  shoddyism.  We  do  not  like  to  be  too  severe, 
but  of  all  human  ailings  and  defects  we  detest  "hoggish- 
ness."  We  remember  once  witnessing  a  group  of  convivial 
friends  throwing  the  dice  for  the  drinks  in  a  fashionable 
saloon.  The  highest  throw  was  five  fives,  when  the  last  player 
went  one  better,  and  had  the  good  luck  to  throw  five  sixes. 
His  exuberant  demonstrations  of  joy,  however,  were  but  of 
brief  duration,  when  he  was  informed  by  the  rest  of  the  party 
that  he  had  to  ' '  set  them  up, ' '  because  throwing  five  sixes  on 
top  of  five  fives  was  considered  "hoggish."  We  again  declare 
that  no  man  can  make  one  million  of  dollars  by  fair  and 
honest  means  except  he  inherit  it.  This  already  exorbitant 
amount  of  one  million  ought  to  be  fixed  as  the  utmost  limit  of 
one  individual's  possessions.  With  the  income  of  one  million 
any  man,  even  if  he  be  the  head  of  a  large  family,  can  live  in 
luxury,  ease  and  comfort  without  working  for  his  living,  like 
hundreds  of  thousands  are  compelled  to  do  ;  what  more  does  he 
want  and  can  he  reasonably  use  ?  In  answer  to  this  more  than 
just  and  equitable  proposition  and  accompanying  limit  of  one 
million  of  property,  the  hue  and  cry  will  be  about  the  hem- 
ming in  of  ambition  and  progress ;  but  those  who  utter  such 
protests  are  biased  either  by  being  already  possessed  of  an 
excessive  fortune,  or  by  their  parasites  and  lickspittles  who 
bask  in  the  master's  sunshine  or  feed  at  his  manger.  We 
have  the  great  satisfaction  of  knowing  beforehand  that  the 
immense  majority  of  our  fellow-citizens  will  be  decidedly  of 
our  if  not  even  of  a  more  radical  opinion.  The  reduction  of 
those  ill-gotten  immense  fortunes  to  a  reasonable  and  equitable 
standard  is  a  matter  of  easy  execution  :  all  that  is  necessary 
is  the  heaviest  possible  taxation  by  the  Federal  Government, 
as  well  as  the  State  and  municipal  authorities,  of  all  excess 
over  one  million,  and  the  forcible  distribution  in  equal  parts 
to  all  the  heirs  of  an  estate,  after  deducting  a  fat  percentage 
coming  to  the  Government  as  an  additional  tax,  not  leaving 
out  of  sight  the  peremptory  necessity  of  limiting  the  posses- 
sion and  occupation  of  landed  property,  which  should  be 
inalienable  as  integral  parts  of  the  earth  of  God,  leased  by  him 
to  an  ever-changing  and  transitory  humanity.  If  our  greedy 
monetary  cormorants  could  possibly  accomplish  it,  they  would 


CAVEAT   PATRIA.  27 

form  a  syndicate  to  mortgage  our  planet  to  the  inhabitants 
of  another  sphere,  or  they  would  drain  the  ocean  in  order  to 
create  lots  of  25x100  to  dispose  of  to  the  poor  trash,  and 
accumulate  immense  profits. 

This  unsavory  subject  leads  us  to  the  unfortunate  condition 
in  which  hundreds  of  thousands  of  deserving  workingmen 
and  their  families  are  placed  at  present,  in  a  country  where 
want  and  privation  should  be  entirely  unknown,  national 
calamities  such  as  floods,  earthquakes,  droughts,  etc.,  of 
course  excepted  ;  even  these  latter  can  always  be  promptly 
remedied,  and  very  often  are,  be  it  said  to  the  credit  of  our 
population. 

In  a  certain  measure  the  working  people  and  artisans,  as 
well  as  the  so-called  genteel  professions,  are  to  blame  for  their 
present  distress.  It  is  owing  to  their  restless,  nomadic  disposi- 
tions. Hardly  does  business  become  slack  in  the  place  of  their 
birth  or  usual  residence,  when  they  at  once  pack  up  their 
traps,  often  leaving  their  families  without  means  of  support 
behind,  and  migrate  to  strange  parts,  in  many  cases  even 
thousands  of  miles  away,  not  reflecting  at  all  that  these 
strange  parts  already  have  their  own  contingent  of  laboring 
and  toiling  men,  and  that  they  only  come  to  snatch  their 
legitimate  bread  from  these  too.  This  is  one  of  the  chief 
reasons  why  we  see  them  by  the  thousands  clamoring  for 
work,  and,  in  lieu  of  work,  bread  and  shelter  to  keep  from 
starving.  The  benevolently  inclined,  the  upper  classes  from 
fear  of  excesses  and  plunder,  and  sometimes  the  local  author- 
ities, come  to  the  relief  of  these  poor  deluded  beings,  but  such 
assistance  can  be  but  temporary  and  limited  in  kind.  Sup- 
posing a  needy  stranger  is  given  food  and  shelter  for  a  few 
days  or  weeks,  where  is  he  to  get  clothing  from,  and  where- 
with to  pay  for  his  washing,  bathing,  tobacco,  beer  and  a  lot  of 
other  minor  requirements?  The  misery  thus  produced  is  some- 
thing appalling,  and  the  only  way  to  put  an  effectual  stop  to 
it  would  be  to  advise  the  men  to  remain  at  home,  where  they 
are  supposed  to  have  friends,  families  or  acquaintances,  to 
whom  they  can  look  for  more  sympathy  than  can  possibly  be 
expected  in  strange  places  remote  from  their  original  sphere. 
Or  these  unfortunate  but  shiftless  men  should  be  sent  back  to 


28  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

their  former  abodes  with  a  warning  to  remain  there,  which 
advice  most  of  them  would  no  doubt  be  inclined  to  follow 
after  the  awful  experience  they  have  gone  through.  This 
migratory  propensity  is  partly  excusable  in  young,  active  men, 
who  can  rough  and  weather  it,  whose  misfortunes  affect  them 
alone ;  but  when  it  comes  to  married  men  taking  such  des- 
perate chances,  with  a  wife  and  children  or  other  persons 
dependent  on  them,  then  roaming  about  at  random  is  unpar- 
donable. Every  village,  town  and  city  is  bound  to  assist  and 
support  their  indigent,  their  sick,  and  those  without  means  of 
securing  a  livelihood.  By  seeking  help  and  work  elsewhere 
they  forfeit  the  aid  thus  due  to  them,  and  take  desperate 
chances,  as  we  see  it  daily  just  now.  Hardly  had  the  great 
Columbian  Fair  in  Chicago  come  to  an  end  after  its  brilliant 
career  of  six  months,  when  there  were  thousands  of  men  and 
women  helpless  on  the  streets  clamoring  for  bread.  And  yet 
millions  over  millions  were  taken  to  and  expended  at  the  great 
City  on  the  I^ake.  If  this  be  the  result  of  industrial  exhibitions 
and  international  shows  in  this  country,  we  must  renounce 
the  idea  of  ever  repeating  them.  In  former  ages,  when  the 
tribal  system  was  still  in  full  blast,  and  one  tribe  or  race 
became  dissatisfied  with  its  pastures,  places  of  abode  and 
mode  of  living,  they  would  strike  their  tents,  pack  up  their 
goods  and  chattels,  collect  their  live-stock,  and,  under  the 
leadership  of  cunning  and  valiant  chiefs,  start  for  other 
regions,  the  men  armed  to  the  teeth,  protecting  their  women 
and  children  during  the  period  of  migration.  If  their  number 
was  overwhelming,  or  if  they  were  braver  and  stronger  than 
the  people  they  came  to  dispossess,  they  easily  founded  new 
hearths ;  but  terrific,  stubborn  battles  and  fearful  slaughter 
were  the  more  frequent  results  of  the  invasion,  and  then 
"  vce  victis  !  "  No  mercy,  no  quarter,  was  known.  Kvery thing 
became  the  booty  of  the  victorious  tribe :  arms,  cattle,  the 
younger  women,  and  sometimes  the  children,  when  these  were 
spared  ;  the  men  were  slain.  Those  were  the  good  old  times  ; 
nowadays,  in  our  so-called  enlightened  age,  and  with  our 
pretended  advanced  civilization,  these  things  are  managed  dif- 
ferently, but  the  result  is  just  the  same.  If  in  former  years 
the  nations  like  the  Goths,  Huns,  Vandals  and  Norsemen  left 


CAVEAT   PATRIA.  29 

their  icy  and  barren  regions  in  quest  of  better  fields,  decided 
to  conquer  or  to  perish,  well  knowing  that  there  was  abso- 
lutely no  other  alternative,  there  was  something  to  admire  in 
such  expeditions.  The  weapons,  too,  were  almost  alike,  differing 
only  in  the  shape  and  length  of  the  sword,  spear  and  buckler 
in  some  nations.  The  fighting  was  hand  to  hand  at  close 
quarters, — no  cowardly  hiding  behind  breastworks  and  battle- 
ments, and  firing  long-range  rifle  bullets  and  shells  at  an 
enemy  more  or  less  concealed  also.  The  night  of  the  battle  of 
Cannae,  in  which  Hannibal  was  victorious,  and  which  lasted 
from  daybreak  till  sunset,  there  were  lying  sixty  thousand 
warriors  slain  by  hand  on  the  field,  not  counting  the  wounded 
who  could  escape. 

Dear  old  Switzerland,  the  country  whose  institutions,  people 
and  sublime  scenery  we  cannot  tire  of  quoting  and  admir- 
ing ;  her  rough  and  mountainous  territory,  notwithstanding, 
did  not  escape  the  fate  of  Germany,  France,  Spain  and  Italy, 
and  was  invaded  several  times.  Of  the  original  inhabitants 
but  little  is  known.  The  first  conquest  was  by  the  Rhaeti  ; 
these  in  turn  were  driven  out  by  the  Helvetii,  a  Celtic  tribe. 
The  latter  were  conquered  by  the  Romans  in  the  year  58  B.  c.; 
but  conquest  by  the  mighty  Romans  was  to  all  tribes  and 
nations  an  immense  advantage,  although  not  appreciated  by 
the  Teutons,  Picts,  Scots,  and  some  others,  contrary  to  their 
own  profit.  The  Romans  did  bring  civilization  in  the  real  sense 
of  the  word ;  they  seldom  interfered  with  the  religious  rites 
and  other  customs  of  the  conquered,  but  taught  them  order 
and  equitable  law,  made  fine  roads  and  aqueducts,  founded 
flourishing  posts  and  cities  in  the  conquered  provinces,  and 
established  communication  and  trade  with  Rome.  It  is 
extremely  questionable  whether  the  introduction  of  Christi- 
anity, with  the  inevitable  accompaniment  of  dukes,  counts  and 
bishops  as  rulers,  could  outweigh  the  mild  but  solid  and  just 
domination  of  the  great  Romans.  The  descending  influence 
of  the  Roman  occupation  of  centuries  is  felt  even  to  this  day 
by  some  of  their  surviving  works,  the  "  Romansch  "  dialect 
still  prevailing  in  the  southern  part  of  Switzerland.  Rebellions 
against  the  Roman  power  were  seldom,  on  account  of  the 
awful  retribution  that  was  sure  to  follow,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Jewish  nation  during  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Titus. 


30  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

Asia  and  America  having  long  since  ceased  to  be  the  object 
of  armed  invasions  for  the  purposes  of  conquest  and  occupa- 
tion, the  attention  of  over-crowded  Hurope  during  the  latter 
part  of  our  century  has  been  turned  to  the  dark  continent  of 
Africa.  England,  France,  Germany,  Spain  and  Belgium  have 
at  various  times  sent  expeditions  to  conquer  portions  of  Africa, 
there  being  considerable  rivalry  and  jealousy  between  them; 
the  invasion  and  conquests  are  still  progressing.  We  hear  but 
little  of  the  slaughter  and  destruction  of  the  tribes,  which  is 
accomplished  only  by  means  of  superior  armament,  rifles, 
cannon,  shells  and  rockets  against  lances,  spears,  assagais, 
bows,  arrows  and  bucklers.  No  force  of  natives,  be  it  ever  so 
numerous  and  well  trained,  like  the  impi  of  the  poor  Zulus, 
can  withstand  the  murderous  attack  of  the  Europeans  at  long 
range ;  and  if  the  poor  natives  of  the  black  race  sometimes 
succeed  in  surprising  and  annihilating  a  small  body  of  their 
aggressors,  the  hue  and  cry  of  massacre  sounds  all  over  Europe, 
and  the  final  destruction  of  the  tribes,  and  seizure  of  the  land 
they  have  held  for  thousands  of  years  by  the  will  of  God,  are 
all  the  more  inevitable.  All  these  acts  of  barbarity,  injustice 
and  spoliation  are  committed  under  the  pretenses  of  commerce, 
colonization  and  civilization.  Civilization  !  — Great  Caesar  !  — 
which  consists  in  the  cross,  the  bible,  gunpowder,  whisky, 
and  other  physical  calamities.  In  this  respect  the  great 
Republic  of  the  United  States  of  North  America  has  a  clean 
record,  and  may  justly  be  proud.  With  the  exception  of  Texas, 
which  was  obtained  in  no  very  creditable  manner,  and  which 
ended  in  the  Mexican  War,  we  have  acquired  all  additions  to 
our  immense  territory  by  lawful  purchase,  and  paid  cash  for 
them,  to  the  extent  of  allowing  fourteen  millions  of  dollars  for 
Arizona -and  Upper  California  after  having  conquered  them. 
If  the  latter  region  afterwards  turned  out  to  be  the  modern 
Golconda,  and  furnished  the  world  with  untold  millions  in 
silver  and  gold,  it  is  not  our  fault ;  we  knew  nothing  of  it. 


Excess  of  population  is  sure  to  bring  forth  untold  disasters, — 
need,  want,  poverty,  and  consequently  general  unhappiness ; 
but  how  to  check  the  increase  is  a  very  ticklish  question. 


CAVEAT   PATRIA.  31 

The  doctrine  of  Malthus  has  some  very  good  points ;  closing 
the  door  to  immigration  is  another  radical  measure,  which 
every  nation  certainly  has  a  perfect  right  to  take.  It  is  in  the 
power  of  man  to  diminish  the  natural  growth  of  the  population, 
and,  if  he  will,  to  cause  the  extinction  of  the  entire  human  race 
within  fifty  years,  thus  giving  Nature  a  chance  to  reconcen- 
trate  the  immense  vital  fluid  disseminated  among  fifteen 
hundred  millions  of  human  beings,  and  create  some  more 
perfect  specimen  than  the  present  man,  truly  and  justly  classi- 
fied as  an  "  animal  "  of  the  order  bimana  (two-handers),  by 
an  eminent  natural  historian,  even  if  under  the  high-sounding 
epithet  of  homo  sapiens,  the  '  *  wise  man ;  "  it  should  have 
been  the  "  cunning  "  man. 

There  is  in  the  wild  and  rugged  regions  of  Norway  a  pecu- 
liar species  of  little  animal  of  the  rodent  kind,  not  unlike  our 
chipmunk,  called  the  "  lemming,"  or  wandering  rat.  These 
animals  live  in  burrows  and  feed  on  roots,  nuts  and  such  other 
substances  as  may  from  season  to  season  come  in  their  way. 
They  increase  and  multiply  like  the  common  rats,  rabbits  and 
cholera  bacilli  to  such  an  extent  that  every  three  or  four  years 
the  food  at  their  disposal  is  entirely  insufficient ;  and,  as  they 
are  not  in  the  habit  of  devouring  each  other,  called  by  some 
mysterious  means,  they  all  gather  in  one  place,  and  hold  a 
congress  of  deliberation,  the  result  of  which  is  that  a  large  sec- 
tion, consisting  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  these  noble  little 
animals,  are  detached  from  the  main  body,  just  as  many  as  are 
deemed  superfluous,  and  take  up  their  funeral  march  in  regular 
military  column  over  mountains,  through  vales  and  gorges, 
fording  rivers,  generally  in  a  straight  line,  to  the  nearest  sea- 
shore, where  they  drown  themselves  in  self-sacrifice  for  the 
benefit  of  their  fellow-lemmings.  What  a  sublime  lesson  to 
greedy,  selfish  and  hoggish  man  !  In  a  thousand  of  us  how 
many  would  we  find  to  volunteer  to  go  to  even  so  easy  a  death 
as  drowning  in  the  sea  in  order  to  relieve  the  distress  of  the 
others,  or  save  them  from  destruction  ?  Perhaps  one  quarter 
of  one  dozen  ! 


The  founding  of  an  entirely  new  party  in  this  country,  a 
party  honest  and  sincere,  free  from  the  ridiculous  obligations 


32  CAVEAT    P ATRIA. 

and  fanatical  prejudices  of  the  hitherto  existing  three  factions, 
has  now  become  a  matter  of  paramount  public  necessity  for 
our  ill-governed  and  plundered  people.  There  is  no  time  to 
lose ;  this  great  and  difficult  task  must  be  undertaken  at  once, 
if  we  intend  to  save  the  magnificent  Republic  bequeathed  to 
us  by  those  magnanimous  and  disinterested  patriots  of  the 
revolutionary  period.  With  never-diminishing  admiration 
and  gratitude  we  look  back  to  such  names  in  our  history  as 
Washington,  Franklin,  Adams  and  Jefferson.  In  the  earlier 
times  of  this  government  there  were  great  statesmen, — 
Webster,  Clay,  Calhouti,  Cass,  Marcy,  Sumner  and  a  host 
of  others.  Alas  !  the  race  has  died  out,  and  nowadays  there 
are  no  more  patriots,  hardly  any  but  political  frauds,  interested 
schemers,  corrupt,  ignorant  officials,  with  a  few  exceptions,  of 
course.  We  had  better  erect  a  golden  calf  of  heroic  proportions 
on  the  public  square  of  each  city,  since  it  is  a  fact  that  all 
patriotism  has  been  relegated  to  the  background  to  make  room 
for  the  Almighty  Dollar.  Many  of  our  millionaires  go  abroad 
to  spend  their  fortunes  ;  their  daughters  hunt  for  foreign  titled 
husbands  in  preference  to  an  honest,  plain,  American  country- 
man. A  sprig  of  an  ancient  New  York  millionaire  race  even 
goes  so  far  as  to  purchase  a  newspaper  in  England,  and  to 
manage  it  in  the  interest  of  the  British  aristocracy.  What 
glory  or  enjoyment  can  there  be  in  an  act  of  apostasy  of  this 
kind?  How  different  from  the  glorious  and  unique  example 
given  by  the  immortal  George  Peabody  !  He  made  his  im- 
mense fortune  in  London  as  an  honest  banker,  and  that  is  say- 
ing a  great  deal ;  he  founded  hospitals,  dwellings  for  the  poor, 
and  richly  endowed  many  public  institutions  in  the  great 
metropolis,  simply  to  show  his  appreciation  of  the  hospitality 
extended  to  him  as  an  American,  and  of  the  wonderful  success 
he  had  met  with.  Then  he  returned  to  the  United  States, 
bringing  his  eleven  millions  with  him,  and  distributed  them  in 
a  most  liberal  and  generous  manner  even  yet  in  his  lifetime, 
unlike  those  harpies  who  want  to  control  their  ill-gotten  wealth 
even  beyond  the  grave  by  signing  wills  full  of  restrictions 
and  ridiculous  clauses.  It  is  indeed  an  immense  satisfaction 
for  those  remaining  behind  on  earth  that  the  departed  cannot 
take  anything  with  them,  thus  sharing  the  common  lot, 
1 '  Naked  we  came  into  the  world,  and  naked  must  we  leave  it." 


CAVEAT   PATRIA.  33 

But  the  formation  of  the  new  party  is  not  sufficient,  be  its 
intents  and  purposes  ever  so  noble  and  good.  The  most  im- 
portant reform  in  our  national  organization,  surpassing  every 
other  measure,  must  be  a  law  to  make  all  official  positions 
tenable  during  good  behavior,  accompanied  by  physical  and 
mental  ability,  unless  the  office  itself  is  abolished  by  law  and 
the  requirements  of  the  public  service.  Appointment  for  life  is 
already  the  rule  in  the  army  and  navy,  in  the  case  of  the  Fed- 
eral judges  and  the  Supreme  Court.  The  Presidential  Cabinet 
and  other  high  offices,  already  subject  to  election  from  time  to 
time,  must,  of  course,  be  excepted.  It  is  these  unwholesome 
periodical  changes  in  the  official  spheres  that  produce  such 
pernicious  results  every  four  years  in  the  exercise  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government,  and  every  two  years  in  that  of  the  State 
governments.  The  sword  of  Damocles  hanging  continuously 
over  the  heads  of  chiefs  of  departments,  clerks,  messengers  and 
other  employees,  not  excepting  the  judiciary  officers,  causes 
the  utmost  confusion  in  all  branches  of  the  Government. 
What  effect  or  influence  can  the  coming  in  or  stepping  out  of 
the  different  superannuated  political  parties  possibly  have  on 
the  efficiency  of  the  clerks  in  the  Treasury  Department,  for 
instance  ?  Politics  can  have  no  bearing  whatever  on  the  daily 
routine  duties  of  the  clerks.  It  is  quite  sufficient  that  the 
President  and  members  of  the  Cabinet,  as  well  as  the  members 
of  Congress,  are  subject  to  the  changes  of  elections  ;  but,  for 
the  sake  of  decency  and  propriety,  let  the  sub-officials  stay 
where  they  are.  The  civil  service  law  has  been  productive  of 
some  good,  but  it  is  not  far-reaching  enough,  and  should  by  all 
means  be  modified  at  once.  A  nice  army  and  navy  would  we, 
or  any  country  under  the  sun,  have  if  the  commissioned 
officers  were  to  be  subject  to  election  every  four  years  !  Dis- 
order and  chaos  would  be  the  inevitable  result  of  such  an 
absurd  measure.  If  the  permanency  of  these  officers,  the 
pride  and  support  of  all  nations,  is  a  recognized  necessity  for 
the  efficiency  and  welfare  of  the  service  and  the  security  of 
the  country,  the  other  branches  of  the  Federal  and  State 
governments  are  just  as  much  entitled  to  stability  in  office. 
It  takes  years  of  hard  study  and  constant  training  to  produce 
good  employees  in  civil  as  well  as  in  military  branches  ;  why 


34  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

then  raise  the  cry  of  persecution,  and  apply  the  barbarous 
maxim  of  "  vce  victis"  whenever  a  new  party  comes  into 
power  ?  By  making  the  officials  entirely  dependent  on  the 
success  of  the  party  they  originally  belonged  to,  we  deprive 
them  of  that  independence  of  character  and  reliance  on  their 
future  subsistence  which  they  ought  to  be  able  to  enjoy  for 
the  benefit  of  the  public  service,  leaving  alone  their  personal 
happiness.  A  man  should  remain  in  office  as  long  as  he  is 
competent  and  behaves  himself.  When  he  has  served  a  cer- 
tain number  of  years,  he  is  entitled  to  be  retired  on  half 
pay  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  the  pension  ceasing  with  his 
death.  Such  is  the  system  in  old  England  and  most  civilized 
countries,  and  they  have  every  reason  to  hold  fast  to  an 
institution  that  insures  faithful,  honest  and  capable  officials  in 
all  the  branches  of  government.  Stability  in  office  once 
instituted  by  law  we  would  also  be  spared  the  dangerous  dis- 
turbances in  the  body  politic,  and  the  disgraceful  scramble  for 
positions  occurring  every  few  years,  besides  relieving  our 
Presidents,  Cabinet  officers  and  members  of  Congress  of  the 
onerous  and  harassing  obligation  of  repaying  their  constit- 
uents for  ' '  services  rendered ' '  during  the  election  period. 


The  continued  conflict  of  authority  and  the  lack  of  recourse 
for  a  final  settlement  of  any  question,  judicial  or  political,  are 
another  sign  of  dissolution.  When  we  come  to  witness  that 
even  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  of 
North  America,  the  highest  and  most  august  tribunal  on  earth, 
is  disregarded  and  not  instantly  carried  out,  as  was  recently 
the  case  with  the  Chinese  certificate  imbroglio,  and  the  dis- 
graceful wrangling  between  the  corrupt  and  interested  parties, 
then  indeed  can  the  cry  of  "  Caveat  Patria"  not  be  heard 
too  often.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  if,  in  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  governing  powers  of  this  once  great  and  almost 
perfect  Republic,  one  State  of  our  Union  threatens  to 
secede  ;  another  to  sever  commercial  relations  with  the  East  ; 
still  another  that  wants  to  coin  its  own  money.  And  what 
has  become  of  our  so  much  boasted  of  patriotism?  In  the 
same  manner  in  which  the  race  of  our  famous  statesmen  has 


CAVEAT  PATRIA.  35 

died  out,  the  race  of  true  patriots  has  become  extinct,  with 
the  exception  of  the  army  and  navy,  where  patriotism  is  still 
to  be  found,  and  we  hope  ever  will  be  found. 

What  is  patriotism  ?  It  is  the  first  and  most  far-reaching 
virtue  man  can  exercise.  Patriotism  is  not  alone  the  sim- 
ple platonic  love  of  our  country,  whether  native  or  adopted. 
It  is  principally  the  desire,  the  willingness,  to  work  with  all 
our  might  for  her  welfare  and  prosperity,  and,  if  need  be,  in 
times  of  danger  and  calamity,  to  offer  our  lives  and  fortunes  in 
her  defense.  If  patriotism  has  been  a  national  virtue,  wide- 
spread at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  and  during  the  several 
wars  this  country  has  passed  through  at  an  increasing  ratio, 
we  see  but  few  traces  of  it  left  nowadays.  The  almighty  dol- 
lar, cynicism  and  selfishness  have  taken  the  place  of  true  patri- 
otism. How  else  are  we  to  explain  the  startling  symptoms 
cropping  up  in  every  direction  ?  Take  for  example  the  Gover- 
nor of  a  State  wanting  to  wade  in  blood  up  to  the  bit  of 
of  his  horse's  bridle  ;  another  Governor  sending  an  insulting 
message  to  the  head  of  the  nation  without  any  other  provoca- 
tion than  that  of  an  importunate  request,  couched  in  suitable 
official  terms.  No  wonder  Hdison  says  that  the  United  States 
are  fast  becoming  an  insane  asylum  full  of  cranks,  if  such 
things  are  permitted  to  take  place,  making  all  due  allowance 
for  liberty  of  press  and  speech.  From  the  earliest  period  of 
our  brief  history  as  an  independent  nation,  we  have  seen 
symptoms  of  the  basest  ingratitude  on  the  part  of  the  legis- 
lative bodies,  akin  to  a  lack  of  true  patriotism.  The  great 
and  noble  Washington  served  his  country's  cause,  during 
the  war  of  the  Revolution,  without  the  hope  of  fee  or  reward. 
It  is  a  fact  that  he  did  not  even  have  a  salary  as  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  the  army  ;  Congress  simply  allowed  him  a  part  of 
his  expenses.  Any  visitor  to  the  archives  of  the  Treasury 
Department  may  see  the  original  itemized  account  of  General 
Washington's  allowances,  and  will  assuredly  be  astonished  at 
the  meager  figures.  He  subsequently  served  the  country  as 
Chief  Magistrate  for  two  terms,  and,  if  any  man  ever  deserved 
posthumous  honors,  it  certainly  was  George  Washington, 
but  they  were  a  long  time  coming.  Instead  of  erecting  to  the 
great  soldier,  patriot  and  statesman,  who  earned  the  glorious 


36  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

title  of  "  Father  of  His  Country,"  a  brazen  column  surpassing 
even  that  of  Marcus  Aurelius  in  Rome  in  beauty  and  colos- 
sal proportions,  the  great  man's  tomb  at  Mount  Vernon, 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  national  capital,  humble  and  plain  as 
it  was,  was  allowed  to  go  to  decay,  owing  to  the  shameful 
ingratitude,  not  so  much  of  the  people  in  general,  as  of  that  of 
Congress,  whose  imperative  duty  it  was,  at  a  time  when  the 
national  treasury  was  replete  with  surplus  funds  (during 
Pierce's  administration),  to  appropriate  a  hundred  thousand, 
nay,  a  million  of  dollars,  to  restore  the  venerable  shrine,  pur- 
chase the  surrounding  domain,  and  erect  a  pantheon  or 
temple  fit  to  contain  immortality.  It  is  said  republics  are 
ungrateful.  May  be,  in  the  case  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  but  not  in  France  and  Switzerland,  where  the 
mortal  remains  of  great  men  have  hardly  been  consigned  to  the 
grave  when  magnificent  monuments  and  statues  are  erected  in 
their  honor.  When  France  presented  the  unique,  colossal 
Statue  of  Liberty  to  the  United  States,  it  took  many  months 
of  wrangling  and  improper  debates  over  the  miserable  appro- 
priation to  be  allowed  by  Congress  to  supply  the  pedestal. 
And  yet  such  an  ornament  in  the  harbor  of  New  York  is  a 
subject  of  joy  and  delight  to  all  who  have  the  good  fortune  of 
beholding  the  eighth  wonder  of  the  world.  We  are  very  prompt 
in  making  claims  and  collecting  them,  but,  once  the  coin  in 
our  coffers,  the  rightful  claimants  can  wait  until  doomsday  to 
get  their  portion,  to  wit,  the  Frenc£'  spoliation  claims,  the 
Alabama  awards,  and  many  minor  cases, — our  chronic  politi- 
cal disease,  procrastination,  delay,  want  of  jurisdiction  and  no 
final  winding  up  of  any  matter.  It  is  different  in  private  busi- 
ness to  a  certain  degree,  provided,  however,  that  this  is 
kept  clear  of  lawyers  and  the  courts. 


We  have  but  few  national  holidays,  the  principal  ones  being 
Washington's  Birthday  and  the  Fourth  of  July.  These  sacred 
anniversaries,  reminding  us  periodically  of  the  birth  of  the 
father  and  of  the  country,  ought  ever  to  be  celebrated  with  the 
most  ardent  enthusiasm  and  a  lavish  expenditure  of  public  and 
private  funds,  and  so  they  were  in  former  years.  But  the 


CAVEAT   P ATRIA.  37 

people  seem  to  have  exhausted  both,  and  have  become 
apathetic,  if  not  entirely  indifferent.  In  this  respect,  too,  we 
can  go  and  learn  something  in  Europe.  On  the  eve  of  a 
national  holiday  one  or  more  bands  of  at  least  fifty  pieces  each, 
instead  of  the  proverbial  dozen  or  two,  called  a  fine  military 
band  in  cities,  where  good  musicians  are  to  be  found  in  abun- 
dance, should  parade  the  principal  streets  with  an  escort  of 
military  and  torchlights,  playing  patriotic  and  jolly  marches, 
in  order  to  amuse  the  people  and  prepare  them  for  the  com- 
ing day,  when  a  reveille  of  drums  and  fifes  resounding 
through  the  streets  at  daybreak  is  again  in  order.  Above 
all,  business  should  be  entirely  suspended  on  such  days, 
places  of  refreshment  and  decent  amusement  alone  excepted, 
thus  compelling  the  greedy  merchants  and  shopkeepers  to 
take  some  little  interest  in  ' '  the  day  we  celebrate. ' '  Public 
officers  and  bankers  require  no  such  compulsory  measures  ; — 
the  former  because  they  are  only  too  glad  to  get  an  outing, 
and  the  latter  because  a  day  of  suspension  in  the  hand- 
ling of  the  mammon  does  not  interfere  in  the  slightest  degree 
with  their  immense  profits.  Bankers,  after  all,  have  the 
finest  time  of  all  professions.  They  open  at  ten,  close  at  three, 
and  take  things  remarkably  easy,  until  some  fine  morning  the 
president  or  cashier  has  taken  French  leave  with  a  portion  of 
the  plunder,  when  there  is  howling  and  gnashing  of  teeth  and 
great  wailing  in  Israel. 

In  September  last  year  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  capitol  at  Washington  was 
duly  celebrated,  the  President  of  the  United  States  delivering 
a  beautiful  oration,  from  which  we  beg  leave  to  extract  the 
following :  "If  the  representatives,  who  here  assemble  to 
make  laws  for  their  fellow-countrymen,  forget  the  duty  of 
broad,  disinterested  patriotism,  and  legislate  in  prejudice  and 
passion,  or  in  behalf  of  sectional,  selfish  interests,  the  time  when 
the  corner-stone  of  our  capitol  was  laid,  and  the  circumstances 
surrounding  it,  will  not  be  worth  commemorating.  The 
sentiment  and  traditions  connected  with  this  structure  and  its 
uses  belong  to  all  the  people  of  the  land.  They  are  valuable 
promoters  of  patriotism  in  the  discharge  of  public  duty  and 
steadfast7iess  in  every  struggle  for  public  good.  They  also 


38  CAVEAT   PATRIA. 

furnish  a  standard  by  which  our  people  may  measure  the 
conduct  of  those  chosen  to  serve  them.  Inexorable  application 
of  this  standard  will  always  supply  proof  that  our  countrymen 
realize  the  value  of  the  free  institutions  designed  and  built  by 
those  who  laid  the  corner-stone  of  their  capitol,  and  that  they 
appreciate  the  necessity  for  constant,  jealous  watchfulness  as  a 
condition  indispensable  to  the  preservation  of  these  institutions 
in  their  purity  and  integrity. ' '  What  an  immense  pity  that 
such  appropriate  and  instructive  words  should  generally  fall 
on  barren  ground  and  be  carried  away  by  the  wind  of  indiffer- 
ence. 

A  most  flagrant  case  of  utter  lack  of  patriotism,  leaving 
aside  humanity,  was  evidenced'  but  recently,  when  the  vener- 
able, the  victorious  corvette  Kearsage,  the  destroyer  of  Captain 
Semmes'  Alabama,  went  on  the  rocks  at  Roncador  Reef,  a  few 
hundred  miles  from  Colon,  the  Atlantic  terminus  of  the  Pacific 
Mail  Steamship  Company.  Although  this  famous  company 
had  one  of  their  steamers  available  at  the  Isthmus  ready  to 
sail  immediately  in  order  to  rescue  the  shipwrecked  crew  of 
the  Kearsarge,  a  whole  day  and  night  were  spent  in  telegraph- 
ing from  Pontius  to  Pilate  about  the  conditions,  convenience 
and  price,  whilst  the  crew  was,  for  good  reasons,  presumed  to 
be  in  the  greatest  danger  of  perishing  in  part  or  all  !  The 
proper  course  would  have  been  to  dispatch  the  mail  steamer 
immediately  for  the  relief  of  the  crew  of  the  ill-fated  old  man-of- 
war,  and  negotiate  about  the  price  afterwards.  We  feel  quite 
confident  that  the  Government  would  have  made  a  most 
liberal  allowance  for  the  act  of  salvage  performed  by  the 
Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company,  and  the  whole  transaction 
would  have  had  a  more  creditable  aspect  in  the  face  of  the 
country. 

The  great  Roman  orator  Cato  Severus,  previous  to  the 
second  Punic  war,  closed  all  his  speeches  with  the  inevitable 
phrase,  "  Cceterum  censeo  Carthaginem  esse  delendam  /"  (and 
finally  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  Carthage  must  be  destroyed), 
and  Carthage  was  destroyed.  In  humble  imitation  of  that 
famous  exclamation  of  Cato,  we  now  close  this  chapter  of 
general  warning  with  the  renewed  cry  of  "  Caveat  Patria!" 


II.    LAW  AND  JUSTICE. 

THE  foundation  of  society  and  the  pillar  of  all  human  organ- 
izations and  institutions  is  the  family.  Customs,  rules  and 
regulations  were  first  laid  down  in  the  remotest  periods  by  the 
patriarchs,  or  heads  of  the  families,  for  the  observance  of  peace 
and  order  in  the  inner  home  circle.  Implicit  obedience  was 
rendered  to  the  head  of  the  family,  and  from  his  decisions  there 
was  no  appeal,  for  he  even  held  the  power  of  life  and  death 
over  his  children.  These  interior  regulations,  however,  differ- 
ing very  frequently  from  those  of  another  family,  were  not 
sufficient  in  themselves  to  control  the  relations  with  each 
other,  and  it  was  soon  found  absolutely  necessary  to  frame 
rules  for  the  government  of  the  tribes,  which  finally  merged 
into  States  and  nations.  This  evolution  was  the  origin  of  laws 
and  justice.  It  is  not  our  intention  to  review  the  different 
systems  of  legislation  since  mankind  formed  into  States,  nor 
to  enter  into  wearisome  details  of  the  relative  merits  of  the 
Hebrew,  Greek  and  Roman  law,  although  we  feel  tempted  to 
eulogize  the  latter  in  particular ;  for  Roman  law  has  withstood 
the  changes  wrought  by  centuries  better  than  any  other, 
excepting  the  ten  commandments,  and  it  would  have  been  a 
blessing  to  mankind  if  more  of  the  old  Roman  laws  were  still 
prevailing.  Liberty  is  a  very  relative  and  still  more  elastic 
conception.  Absolute  and  unrestrained  liberty  of  individual 
action  is  impossible,  because  man  would  be  in  incessant  con- 
flict with  his  neighbor ;  and,  as  man  and  his  neighbor  only  too 
frequently  differ  on  many,  if  not  on  all,  subjects,  there  would 
not  be  any  peace,  security  or  harmony,  but  for  the  power  and 
strong  moral  influence  of  what  is  called  law  ; — the  more  or  less 
well-considered,  digested  rules  for  the  personal  relations  of  men 
with  each  other  in  the  first  place,  and  for  the  government  of 
the  masses  in  the  second.  Some  laws  are  just,  wise  and  bene- 
ficial, others  arbitrary,  unfair  and  oppressive.  These  laws  are 
changed  from  time  to  time  ;  but  no  nation  has  as  yet  been  able 


40  I,AW   AND  JUSTICE. 

to  rise  to  that  pinnacle  of  perfect  legislation,  and  its  cousin- 
german,  jurisprudence,  which  the  progress  of  culture  and 
learning  would  seem  to  indicate.  France,  Belgium,  and 
especially  that  beacon  light  of  rational  liberty,  Switzerland, 
undoubtedly  excel  all  other  nations  in  this  respect.  The 
English  laws,  and  their  offspring  in  these  United  States  of 
North  America,  are  by  far  too  complex,  and  so  replete  to 
overflowing  with  superfluous  and  meaningless  verbiage,  that 
neither  the  exponents  of  the  law,  nor  the  attorneys,  and  much 
less  the  unfortunate  public,  are  able  to  comprehend  them  fully 
or  even  approximately. 

If  law  is  the  regulation  of  the  relations  of  men  in  private 
as  well  as  in  public,  justice  is  the  effect  of  the  law  and  the 
execution  of  its  inexorable  mandates.  Justice  is  figuratively 
represented  as  a  woman,  blindfolded,  holding  a  pair  of  scales 
in  her  right  hand  and  a  naked  sword  in  her  left ;  in  our 
country  a  pair  of  crutches  should  be  added  to  the  equipment, 
for  justice  with  us,  we  are  pained  to  say,  is  not  only  blind  but 
lame  too. 

In  the  present  age,  and  with  our  so-called  advanced  civiliza- 
tion, the  general  education  of  the  people,  productive  of  soft- 
ened and  enlightened  thoughts  and  ideas,  a  different  kind  of 
legislation  must  necessarily  prevail  than  that  of  the  dark  and 
middle  ages.  Legislation  nowadays  is  comparatively  easy, 
but  there  are  too  many  impediments  thrown  in  its  way  by  the 
stupidity,  ignorance,  malice  and  selfishness  of  a  great  many 
of  the  public  men  intrusted  with  this  all-important  task  ;  hence 
our  laws  are  defective  in  many  points,  and  lack  that  funda- 
mental virtue, — equity  ! 

In  the  United  States  of  North  America  we  have  a  super- 
abundance of  laws,  and  such  is  this  superabundance  that  the 
laws  necessarily  come  in  conflict  with  each  other ;  and  neither 
judge  nor  jury  nor  attorney  nor  Supreme  Court  can  fully 
determine  what  is  right  and  wrong,  meet  and  reprehensible, 
in  many  cases.  This  in  itself  is  bad  enough,  but  then  we 
come  to  the  difficulties  that  beset  the  litigant  in  civil  as  well 
as  criminal  cases  from  the  very  commencement  of  a  suit,  the 
chicanery  and  intrigues  of  the  lawyers,  the  lack  of  energy 
and  power  on  the  part  of  the  judges,  even  presuming  all  these 


LAW  AND  JUSTICE.  41 

functionaries  to  be  honest  and  learned  in  their  profession,  the 
vacillation  and  caprice  of  the  juries,  and  last,  but  not  least, 
the  endless  procrastination  and  appeals,  resulting  in  the  shelv- 
ing of  the  cases,  be  they  ever  so  pressing  and  important,  by 
the  highest  tribunals  of  the  State  and  Federal  Government. 
In  this  respect  we  shall  be  obliged  (and  the  obligation  implies 
no  hardship)  to  frequently  quote  France  and  Switzerland,  in 
which  countries  justice  is  swift,  sure,  equal  for  all,  retribu- 
tion prompt  and  inexorable,  and  corruption  of  very  rare  occur- 
rence. In  justice  to  old  England,  we  are  pleased  to  add,  that 
bribery  and  corruption  are  seldom  found  there  in  judicial  and 
other  public  circles.  We  happened  to  look  into  the  case  with 
our  own  eyes,  whilst  investigating  the  different  departments 
of  the  respective  governments  of  Europe,  winding  up  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 


One  immense  drawback  in  the  administration  of  justice  in 
our  country  is  the  diversity  of  the  laws  in  the  different  States 
of  the  Union.  If  you  cannot  get  married  in  Maryland  for 
some  reason  in  conflict  with  the  local  laws,  you  go  to  New 
Jersey  ;  if  a  license  is  refused  in  California  to  young  people 
under  age,  they  hire  a  tugboat,  go  to  sea  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  State,  and  a  complacent  captain  performs  the  ridiculous 
ceremony.  You  cannot  get  a  divorce  in  your  own  State,  and 
you  go  to  South  Dakota,  or  to  any  other  State,  to  obtain  it 
anyhow.  A  lottery  is  authorized  by  the  laws  of  one  State,  and 
it  is  considered  a  heinous  crime  in  the  other  States  to  even 
have  a  poor  little  ticket  in  your  possession,  and  so  forth. 
Such  a  chaotic  state  of  legislative  affairs  is  apt  to  produce 
great  disorder  and  confusion.  A  uniformity  of  the  civil  and 
criminal  codes  all  over  the  country  should  be  brought  about 
by  all  means,  and  the  sooner  the  better.  The  immense  extent 
of  our  national  territory,  and  the  already  too  great  diversity 
of  our  people  and  their  interests,  make  a  speedy  unification 
of  the  general  laws  a  most  desirable  necessity.  Marriage, 
divorce,  bankruptcy  and  criminal  occurrences  are  subjects  of 
national  interest,  not  only  pertaining  to  the  several  States, 
but  affecting  the  whole  population  of  the  country.  State 


42  LAW  AND   JUSTICE. 

autonomy  is  quite  flattering  to  the  pride  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  State,  but  this  body  politic  is  not  competent  to  make 
laws  regarding  the  general  welfare ;  we  have  a  Congress  for 
that,  and  the  more  power  is  given  to  that  body  and  the  Fed- 
eral Government  the  better  it  will  be  for  the  maintenance 
and  security  of  this  great  Republic. 

To  further  hinder  the  proper  administration  of  justice,  and  to 
put  endless  obstacles  in  the  way  of  litigants,  plaintiffs  as  well 
as  defendants,  we  have  a  class  of  men  whose  original  purpose 
and  object  was  and  should  be  to  aid,  assist  and  defend  the 
injured,  the  offended,  the  despoiled,  and  the  unfortunate 
accused,  to  be  their  friend  and  protector  before  the  law,  to 
assist  them  with  their  learning,  experience  and  knowledge  of 
the  statutes,  and  to  protest  against  any  arbitrary  ruling  or 
too  harsh  sentences  by  the  courts.  We  mean  the  lawyers. 
Taken  in  this  light,  the  profession  of  the  lawyer  would  be  one 
of  the  most  genteel,  noble  and  generous  callings  that  can  fall 
to  the  lot  of  man.  The  legal  profession,  too,  is  highly 
esteemed,  honorable  and  respected  in  most  countries  of  Europe, 
and  also  in  many  of  the  Spanish- American  republics,  Mexico 
for  instance,  for  the  simple  but  very  powerful  reason  that  the 
action  of  the  lawyers  there  is  well  controlled  and  checked  by 
wise  laws  and  specific  rules,  laid  down  by  the  judiciary 
tribunals  of  the  higher  grades.  Their  number,  too,  is  limited, 
the  conditions  of  admission  to  the  exercise  of  the  important 
and  honorable  calling,  and  the  preparatory  and  complementary 
studies,  being  by  far  more  severe  than  in  this  country,  the  dis- 
grace of  malpractice,  corruption  and  bribery  more  complete, 
the  punishment  for  infraction  more  severe.  This  country, 
unfortunately,  is  flooded  with  lawyers  and  physicians,  the  most 
favorite  professions  ;  and  they  are  turned  out  from  colleges, 
universities  and  law  offices  in  immense  numbers  periodically, 
even  before  they  have  attained  one-half  of  the  proficiency 
required  in  other  countries,  and  proven  by  public  examination, 
before  they  can  be  admitted  to  practice.  Moreover  the  statutes 
and  rules  of  our  courts  allow  the  lawyers  by  far  too  much  free- 
dom in  court  and  out  of  it ;  they  have  but  little  respect  for  the 
honorable  judge,  in  fact  consider  themselves  far  superior  to 
him  in  learning  and  social  position.  There  are  many  and 


LAW   AND   JUSTICE.  43 

brilliant  exceptions  of  course,  and  we  have  personally  known 
some  of  them  ;  but  many  of  our  lawyers  pretend  to  dictate  to 
the  court,  show  but  little  reverence  for  the  majesty  of  the  law, 
and  very  often  indulge  in  unbecoming,  disrespectful  language 
toward  their  opponent,  the  witnesses,  and  even  the  judge 
himself.  A  fine  is  sometimes  imposed,  but  seldom  paid, 
because  the  offending  attorney  is  mighty  prompt  in  apologizing 
and  retracting  when  it  comes  to  the  shekels,  or  to  imprisonment 
for  contempt.  Speak  about  the  "  majesty  of  the  law  ;  "  where 
is  it? 

History  shows  us  that  in  some  countries  lawyers  were  con- 
sidered a  dangerous  and  undesirable  class  even  in  early  times. 
Thus,  for  instance,  King  Alfonso  el  Sabio  (Alfonso the  Wise), 
ruling  over  Leon  and  Castile  from  1252-1284,  issued  a  decree, 
that,  if  any,  but  one  lawyer  should  be  allowed  for  each  province 
of  the  realm;  and  at  the  annual  legislative  sessions  of  the  Basque 
Provinces  no  lawyer  was  permitted  to  approach  within  thirty 
miles  of  the  place  of  meeting.  This  King  Alfonso  X,  as  his 
epithet  implies,  was  one  of  those  rare  monarchs  who  cared  for 
the  welfare  of  his  people  above  all  other  things,  and  framed  a 
number  of  admirable  laws  ;  amongst  these  a  code  called  '  *  Las 
Siete  Partidas  ' '  (the  Seven  Parts)  is  the  most  famous.  He 
was  charged  with  impiety  on  account  of  his  say  ing,  that,  "if  he 
had  been  present  at  the  creation,  he  could  have  given  some 
useful  hints  for  the  better  ordering  of  the  universe." 

A  considerable  reduction  in  the  number  of  lawyers  admitted 
to  practice,  and  a  still  more  considerable  increase  in  the  pro- 
ficiency of  the  candidate  and  his  age  to  qualify  him,  would  be 
most  desirable  and  conducive  to  the  ends  of  justice  and  the 
public  welfare. 

Speaking  of  contempt  of  court,  we  are  reminded  of  an  inci- 
dent that  occurred  in  the  court  of  a  small  town  in  France  but 
a  couple  of  years  ago,  exemplifying  summary  proceedings  free 
from  any  interference  or  obstructions,  such  as  are  continually 
practiced  by  our  attorneys.  A  prisoner  had  just  been  sen- 
tenced to  one  year  simple  confinement  in  jail  for  some  minor 
offense.  He  quickly  stooped  down,  took  off  one  of  his  wooden 
shoes,  and,  before  the  guards  could  prevent  it,  threw  it  at  the 
head  of  the  judge,  who  fortunately  dodged  the  ugly  missile. 


44  I<AW  AND   JUSTICE. 

The  prisoner  was  instantly  secured,  and  the  court,  without 
any  further  ceremony  or  hesitation,  inflicted  ten  years  of 
hard  labor  on  the  wretch  for  an  assault  in  open  court,  in 
addition  to  the  one  year  of  simple  confinement.  This  is  the 
majesty  of  the  law,  the  way  we  should  understand  it. 

Now  and  then  there  are  exceptional  cases  of  prompt  arrest, 
smooth  trial  and  immediate  sentence  and  execution  of  the 
same,  for  instance,  the  case  of  the  thief  concealed  under  the 
bed  and  arrested  by  the  unfortunate  General  (then  Colonel) 
Boulanger  in  a  New  York  hotel,  at  the  time  of  the  centennial 
celebration  of  the  surrender  of  Yorktown. 


The  judicial  officers  in  this  country  are  elected  by  popu- 
lar vote  for  a  limited  number  of  years,  like  so  many  other 
officials.  If  this  is  contrary  to  common  sense  and  the  welfare 
of  the  State  in  the  case  of  the  latter,  it  is  especially  so  in 
the  case  of  the  judges,  who  are  always  nominated  by  political 
conventions  and  for  political  purposes.  The  stupidity  of  such 
a  system  is  too  evident  to  indulge  in  any  further  criticism 
of  its  demoralizing,  damaging  effects,  than  to  insist  with  the 
greatest  emphasis  on  a  complete  change  of  the  respective  laws 
in  the  case  of  the  judges  at  least,  who  should  not  be  elected, 
but  appointed  by  the  State  authorities,  subject  to  ratification 
by  the  Legislatures,  to  serve  and  remain  in  office  during  their 
ability  and  competency,  and  to  be  retired  on  half  pay  after  a 
certain  period  of  service,  say  thirty  years,  their  compensation 
to  be  adequate.  The  same  ought  to  be  done  with  the  other 
judiciary  court  officials,  from  whose  ranks  the  bench  could  be 
supplied  in  case  of  a  vacancy.  The  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  and  lower  courts  of  the  United  States  are  appointed  for 
life  ;  the  system  is  correct  and  works  well.  These  judges 
are  less  liable  to  accept  bribes ;  in  fact,  we  think  such  cases 
are  very  rare  in  a  Federal  court.  Any  one  having  been  pres- 
ent at  the  sitting  of  one  of  these  courts  cannot  help  noting  the 
great  difference  in  regard  to  dignity,  order  and  respect,  when 
compared  with  State  and  municipal  courts.  No  lawyer  dare 
exhibit  ill  manners,  insolent  language,  or  pretended  superi- 
ority before  a  United  States  magistrate.  The  majesty  of  the 


LAW   AND   JUSTICE.  45 

law  is  somewhat  respected  in  these  courts,  and  why? 
Because  the  judge  is  not  subject  to  the  vicissitudes  of  popular 
elections ;  because  he  is  independent  ;  because  he  knows  as 
much  as,  if  not  more  than,  the  lawyers  pleading  before  him  ;  and 
because  he  has  no  one  ahead  of  him  but  the  Attorney-General 
and  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  In  the  midst 
of  the  Babel-like  chaos  and  confusion  pervading  the  State 
and  municipal  courts,  the  want  of  respect,  order  and  dignity  dis- 
played in  these  so  very  often,  it  is  a  consolation  to  see  that  there 
are  some  courts  in  this  country  in  which  such  defects  are  not 
tolerated.  The  citizens  and  voters  who  elect  our  judges  are 
mostly  ignorant  of  their  personality,  and  therefore  not  compe- 
tent to  make  a  selection.  To  further  enhance  the  dignity  of 
the  bench,  the  judges  should  attend  court  in  black  gowns, 
and  alone  wear  a  black  cap,  which  must  be  donned  whilst  pro- 
nouncing sentence.  Lawyers  should  be  kept  in  proper  check, 
the  orders  of  the  court  officials  promptly  obeyed,  and  the  pub- 
lic excluded  from  the  sacred  podium  of  the  court,  and  made 
to  sit  quiet,  orderly  and  respectful,  instead  of  going  in 
and  out  like  in  a  pigeon-house,  chewing,  spitting,  sitting  in 
disorderly  positions,  or  sleeping.  A  courtroom  in  session 
should  be  looked  upon  in  almost  the  same  solemn  light  as  a 
church  service. 

It  is  a  shame  and  a  disgrace  to  hear  that  not  infrequently 
the  counsel  and  witnesses  in  a  trial  appear  with  arms  con- 
cealed on  their  persons  ;  sometimes  these  arms  are  exhibited, 
and  threats  of  shooting  made  right  in  the  face  of  the  judge. 
Why,  at  a  recent  trial  in  an  interior  town  of  California,  there 
were  at  least  a  dozen  revolvers  displayed,  and  yet  the  judge 
merely  requested  the  belligerent  attorneys  and  witnesses  not 
to  come  armed  into  court,  instead  of  ordering  the  doors 
closed,  the  pistols  seized  by  the  officers  of  the  court,  and  the 
insolent  culprits  fined  five  hundred,  nay,  a  thousand  dollars 
apiece  for  such  violation  of  the  rules.  No  wonder  that  the 
courts  are  treated  with  contempt,  if  such  disgraceful  scenes 
are  permitted  to  go  unpunished.  Here  was  a  fine  opportunity 
for  pouring  a  couple  of  thousand  dollars  for  fines  into  the 
county  treasury,  and  the  respective  attorneys  and  witnesses 
would  have  been  taught  an  everlasting  lesson. 


46  LAW   AND   JUSTICE. 

The  jury  system  of  trying  civil  and  criminal  cases  is  of 
comparatively  modern  date,  and  ought  to  be  the  most  reason- 
able and  impartial  manner  of  fixing  the  guilt  or  innocence  of 
the  accused,  and  of  disposing  of  other  cases  of  litigation  ;  but, 
unfortunately,  this  system  has  become  degenerated,  corrupted 
and  prostituted  to  such  a  degree,  that  not  only  have  the  ma- 
jority of  the  people  lost  all  confidence  in  it,  but  its  very 
organic  defects  only  too  often  serve  to  defeat  the  ends  and  objects 
of  justice,  and  radical  reforms  in  this  important  branch  are  a 
matter  of  urgent  necessity.  A  criminal  very  frequently 
escapes  punishment  for  even  the  highest  offenses  against  the 
law  through  the  imbecility  or  vacillation  of  one  or  more  jurors. 
The  rule  that  a  verdict  must  be  unanimous  in  order  to  con- 
demn or  to  exonerate  is  simply  absurd.  Instead  of  twelve 
men,  let  the  jury  consist  of  but  nine,  and  make  the  vote  of 
two-thirds  of  this  number  decisive.  If  a  jury  composed  of 
nine  sensible,  impartial  and  intelligent  men  does  not  agree 
on  a  verdict  within  a  term  of  three  hours  as  the  utmost  limit, 
it  should  be  discharged  and  judgment  rendered  by  the  magis- 
trate before  whom  the  case  has  been  tried.  The  method  of 
impaneling  juries  is  erroneous,  too.  Every  citizen  in  good 
health,  who  is  possessed  of  ordinary  comprehension,  not  con- 
victed of  any  crime  at  any  time,  and  who  has  attained  the  age 
of  thirty  years  and  not  exceeding  that  of  sixty-five,  should  be 
compelled  to  serve  as  a  juror  unless  excused  for  very  good  and 
sufficient  reason.  Almost  everybody  shirks  that  duty,  how- 
ever, because  the  term  of  three  months  is  too  long.  It  is  an 
encroachment  on  the  personal  liberty  of  the  citizen  to  make 
him  attend  court  during  three  long  months,  taking  him  away 
from  his  business,  his  family,  his  daily  pursuits  and  amuse- 
ments, often  sequestering  him  in  a  dirty  room  for  days  and 
nights,  parading  him  on  the  streets  in  charge  of  a  deputy 
sheriff,  and  other  indignities.  A  couple  of  weeks  should  be 
the  limit ;  any  well-disposed  citizen  is  willing  to  dedicate  that 
time  to  the  purposes  of  justice,  and  will  feel  proud  for  having 
done  so,  instead  of  leaving  the  court  at  the  time  of  his  dis- 
charge with  bitterness  in  his  heart  and  imprecations  on  his 
lips.  If  the  jurors  were  polled  in  alphabetical  order,  and  no 
exceptions  made,  no  dubious  complacencies  exercised  in  the 


LAW   AND    JUSTICE.  47 

cases  of  those  who  have  influence  and  coin  to  grease,  a  juror 
would  not  be  summoned  again  in  a  decade.  As  for  the  system 
of  interrogating,  challenging  and  rejecting  jurors  to  the  extent 
of  selecting  two  or  three  only  from  a  set  of  sixty,  it  is  simply 
absurd.  The  proper  way  is  to  select  them  by  lot,  allowing 
the  prosecution  and  the  defense  to  reject  but  one  juror  each. 
It  is  almost  impossible  to  find  a  citizen  who  has  not  read, 
heard  or  talked  about  a  case,  or  who  has  not  formed  a  pre- 
vious opinion,  especially  in  our  literary  days,  when  the  cele- 
brated cases  are  tried  beforehand,  and  commented  upon  in  a 
more  or  less  impartial  manner  by  the  public  papers  and  their 
satellites,  the  ubiquitous  and  irrepressible  reporters.  Prohibit 
such  improper  publicity,  and  you  will  find  men  who  have 
not  formed  any  opinions.  It  is  likewise  an  error,  that  the  law 
presumes  every  defendant  to  be  innocent  until  he  is  found 
guilty  ;  the  law  has  no  right  to  presume  anything.  If  a 
transgressor  of  the  law  is  arrested  and  arraigned  in  court,  it  is 
because  he  has  either  committed  a  crime,  or  is  under  suspicion 
of  having  done  so,  and  in  both  cases  he  is  decidedly  under  a 
cloud,  until  his  innocence  is  proven  and  not  his  guilt ;  else 
why  arrest  a  presumably  innocent  man  ? 

There  are  cases,  we  are  pleased  to  be  able  to  say,  when  juries, 
impaneled  on  the  present  plan,  and  accepted  in  due  form  by 
both  prosecution  and  defense,  come  up  to  the  original  purposes 
and  expectations  of  the  system.  The  writer  has  been  a  member 
of  many  juries,  and  has  suffered  the  hardship  of  these  un- 
fortunate arbiters  of  guilt  and  innocence;  but  he  has  the  great 
satisfaction  of  looking  back  upon  his  last  term  of  three  months 
in  a  criminal  court,  his  jury  being  composed  of  rational,  intelli- 
gent and  impartial  men,  not  all  of  whom  had  graduated  at 
Cambridge  University,  or  the  Sorbonne  of  Paris,  some  of  them 
being  plain  workingmen.  That  jury  tried  some  thirty  cases 
of  nearly  all  degrees  of  crime,  murder  alone  excepted.  It  was 
never  out  more  than  half  an  hour,  and  never  failed  to  bring  in 
a  verdict,  finding  nearly  every  defendant  guilty  as  charged, 
recommending  several  to  the  mercy  of  the  court  on  account  of 
the  disproportion  of  the  punishment  to  the  offense  committed, 
and  acquitting  a  few  only,  the  evidence  being  more  than 
doubtful.  In  this  connection  we  may  add,  that  the  forensic 


48  LAW   AND    JUSTICE. 

efforts  of  the  lawyers  on  behalf  of  the  defendants  generally 
produced  the  opposite  effect  on  the  jury  from  what  they  intended 
to  impress.  Both  the  judge  and  the  prosecuting  attorney  were 
men  of  great  legal  talent  and  of  the  strictest  integrity  ;  the 
words  of  approval  from  their  lips,  and  the  brief  eulogy  pro- 
nounced by  the  judge  upon  discharging  that  jury,  will  no  doubt 
be  ever  a  pleasant  remembrance  for  its  members. 

Jurors  are  only  paid  in  civil  cases,  which  are  by  far  less 
fatiguing,  disgusting  and  delicate  than  criminal  trials.  A 
criminal  jury  should  also  be  allowed  proper  compensation, 
which  might  be  suppressed  in  case  no  verdict  is  rendered,  and 
the  time  of  the  court  has  been  taken  in  vain.  If  the  magis- 
trate, court  officials,  attorneys  and  witnesses  are  paid,  the 
jurors  are  no  less  entitled  to  compensation  for  their  services, 
passive  as  they  may  be. 


The  object  and  purposes  of  imprisonment  for  crimes 
committed,  as  inflicted  by  law,  are  threefold  :  First,  to  set  a 
warning  example  to  others ;  second,  to  protect  the  commu- 
nity by  removing  from  it  those  disposed  to  crime ;  and  third, 
to  reform  the  offender,  if  possible.  Preventive  imprisonment 
is  unavoidable.  The  accused  must  be  kept  secure  until 
their  trial ;  but  it  is  unjust  and  in  many  cases  outrageous 
to  keep  an  unconvicted  prisoner  in  jail  for  an  indefinite  period 
before  he  is  brought  to  trial.  He  has  a  right  to  be  tried 
without  any  but  the  most  indispensable  delays,  and  the  time 
passed  in  preventive  imprisonment  ought  to  be  deducted  from 
the  term  of  the  sentence.  Our  delays  in  bringing  criminals,  or, 
if  you  like,  those  accused  of  crime,  before  the  proper  tribunal, 
are  a  disgrace  to  free,  enlightened  and  liberal  institutions  :  if 
ten  courts  are  not  sufficient  to  expedite  judicial  business, 
establish  twenty.  The  trials,  too,  should  be  curtailed,  and  a 
check  put  to  the  indefinite  perorations  of  the  attorneys,  many 
of  whom  talk  sheer  nonsense,  and  only  to  make  their  clients 
believe  that  they  are  doing  something  to  earn  their  more  or  less 
exorbitant  fees.  In  France  and  Switzerland  the  judge  himself 
conducts  the  examination  of  the  accused,  the  lawyers  playing 


LAW   AND   JUSTICE.  49 

a  decorous  and  modest  part  until  the  final  argument,  when  they 
may  indulge  in  brilliant  oratory  to  their  heart's  content. 

It  is  somewhat  different  in  civil  proceedings,  there  being  no 
previous  confinement  of  the  accused,  and  the  general  public 
not  so  much  concerned  as  in  matters  of  public  security  of  life 
and  property.  Still  the  judicial  procedure  in  civil  suits  is 
by  far  too  slow,  and  would  likewise  be  much  expedited  by 
a  simplification  of  the  code  and  the  proposed  radical  reforma- 
tion of  the  jury  system. 

Our  sister  Republic,  Mexico,  is  far  ahead  of  us  in  many 
respects,  not  excepting  the  judiciary  branches.  To  commence 
with,  there  are  justices  of  the  peace,  whose  province  it  is  to 
orally  hear  the  disputants  in  the  presence  of  each  other, 
give  his  opinion  on  the  merits  of  the  case,  propose  an 
amicable  settlement  between  the  contending  parties,  and, 
if  this  wise  and  economical  proposition  be  accepted,  pro- 
nounce his  decision.  This  is  called  a  "conciliatory 
judgment;"  but,  if  the  contestants  cannot  be  made  to 
agree,  they  are  referred  to  the  higher  court,  in  which  all 
proceedings  are  in  writing.  The  judge  warns  them,  at  the 
same  time,  that  further  litigation  would  be  expensive  and 
tedious  beyond  their  possible  conception.  No  attorneys  are 
needed  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  the  expense  is  a  mere 
trifle.  These  primitive  courts  are  very  useful,  inasmuch  as 
they  may  frequently  stifle  big  lawsuits  in  the  bud,  and  settle 
a  number  of  minor  cases  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  both 
parties,  without  leaving  that  deadly  hatred  between  them,  so 
frequently  engendered  by  the  loss  of  a  supposed  just  suit. 

The  writer  has  had  several  suits  in  Mexico  and  in  this 
country,  all  of  which  he  won,  with  the  difference  that  in  the 
former  country  he  did  not  even  engage  lawyers,  except  in  one 
case,  his  cause  being  so  eminently  just  that  he  found  it  easy  to 
defend  it  even  against  the  counsel  employed  by  the  other  side. 
In  one  instance  the  judge  asked  him  if  he  had  no  legal 
adviser,  there  being  two  attorneys  employed  by  defendants,  to 
which  he  replied,  ' '  that  he  had  confidence  in  the  righteous- 
ness of  his  cause  and  in  the  sagacity  and  impartiality  of 
the  judge."  His  Honor  decided  in  his  favor,  and  sentenced 
the  defendant  to  the  costs  of  the  suit.  This  is  another  great 


50  LAW  AND  JUSTICE, 

advantage  in  Mexico  :  the  losing  party  has  to  pay,  not  only 
the  whole  expenses  of  the  court,  but  also  the  other  side's 
attorneys  ;  and  this  is  but  just  and  right.  If  a  party  is  sued 
by  another,  and  wins  his  case,  which  is  a  proof  that  the  other 
side  was  in  the  wrong,  why  should  he  suffer  any  pecuniary 
damage  in  the  way  of  expenses  and  fees  not  of  his  own 
seeking,  but  forced  upon  him  by  plaintiff?  The  fees  of  the 
Mexican  lawyers  are  very  moderate  compared  with  those 
charged  by  our  legal  cormorants  and  allowed  by  indulgent 
courts.  As  an  instance  of  these  moderate  charges  we  may 
here  state,  that  in  the  only  suit  in  Mexico  in  which  we 
employed  an  attorney,  and  which  for  some  reason  was 
protracted  for  several  months,  this  attorney's  fees  amounted 
to  a  trifle  over  fifty  dollars,  in  addition  to  some  twenty 
dollars  court  expenses,  notary's  fees  and  stamped  paper, 
all  of  which  had  to  be  paid  by  the  other  side  according 
to  law.  The  legal  profession  in  our  neighboring  Republic  is 
of  high  standing,  and,  together  with  the  wholesale  mer- 
chants and  the  better  class  of  storekeepers,  form  the 
aristocracy  of  the  country.  Nor  do  we  ever  see  in  their 
courts  the  arrogant  manner  of  some  of  our  lawyers  toward 
the  judges,  nor  hear  their  violent,  often  ridiculous,  perora- 
tions, nor  witness  the  nasty  habit  of  browbeating,  intimidating 
and  insulting  the  innocent  witnesses,  who  are  called  to  give 
testimony  in  the  aid  of  light  and  justice,  and  are  often  shame- 
fully treated,  as  if  they  were  the  accused.  In  this  respect, 
too,  there  is  room  for  great  improvement. 

The  retention  of  witnesses  in  criminal  cases  for  a  lengthy 
period  because  they  cannot  furnish  bonds  for  their  reappear- 
ance is  wrong  in  principle  ;  but,  when  it  comes  to  a  case  of 
confinement  of  half  a  dozen  unfortunate  sailors  in  a  fortress 
in  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco  for  the  long  space  of  one 
year,  it  becomes  an  outrage  and  an  iniquity.  The  papers 
have  taken  up  this  subject  on  several  occasions,  but  the 
United  States  officials  are  not  ready,  and  simply  reply, 
"Dura  Lex,  sed Lex /"  (The  law  is  hard,  but  it  is  the  law.) 


What  is  needed  in  the  first  instance,  and  what  we  want  most 
decidedly,  is  promptitude  in  the  arraignment  of  prisoners,  and 


LAW   AND   JUSTICE.  51 

speedy  trials.  There  are  of  course  complicated  cases,  wrapped 
in  mystery,  which  it  takes  time  and  perseverance  to  unravel 
and  bring  to  trial,  but  the  immense  majority  of  cases  can  and 
should  be  brought  before  the  courts  without  the  slightest 
delay,  even  if  but  for  the  simple  reason,  that  the  deed  is  fresh 
in  the  memory  of  all  concerned,  that  the  witnesses  have  had 
no  time  to  be  suborned,  rehearsed  or  spirited  away,  and  that 
the  gentlemen  of  the  legal  profession  have  had  no  time  to 
operate  any  of  their  legal  and  illegal  trickery.  With  speedy 
trials  justice  is  by  far  easier  to  exercise,  and  the  criminal  element 
kept  in  better  check  by  the  fear  of  prompt  retribution.  The 
following  State  courts  would  answer  all  the  requirements  of 
our  people,  and  give  universal  satisfaction  on  account  of  the 
simplicity  of  the  organization  :  Police  Court,  for  the  trial  of 
minor  offenses,  and  superficial  preliminary  examination  of 
higher  crimes  to  be  referred  to  a  superior  criminal  court ; 
Justice  of  the  Peace  Court,  for  conciliatory  judgments,  and  settle- 
ment of  cases  involving  amounts  not  exceeding  one  thousand 
dollars  ;  Superior  Criminal  Court,  for  the  trial  of  cases  referred 
by  the  Police  Court ;  Superior  Civil  Court,  for  suits  appealed 
from  the  Justice  of  the  Peace  Court,  and  suits  brought  directly 
before  it  involving  amounts  above  the  sum  of  one  thousand 
dollars,  and  all  other  civil  cases  ;  and  finally  a  State  Supreme 
Court,  with  high  jurisdiction  over  all  the  lower  courts,  to  which 
appeals  may  be  taken,  and  by  which  all  matters  must  be  imme- 
diately decided  one  way  or  the  other.  Of  the  United  States 
j  udiciary  system  we  will  treat  in  another  chapter. 


In  connection  with  the  all-important  and  far-reaching  ques- 
tion of  a  complete  revision  and  simplification  of  our  laws,  an 
operation  considered  so  very  difficult  by  our  wiseacres  and  the 
class  that  alone  derive  benefit  from  confused  and  intricate 
statutes,  we  beg  to  point  out  the  "Code  Napoleon,"  elaborated 
by  the  great  man  during  the  brief  spell  of  peace  allowed  him 
at  one  time  by  the  powerful  monarchs  whom  he  had  vanquished 
and  humiliated,  instead  of  destroying  them  at  once  in  the 
interest  of  progress  and  enlightenment,  and  who  did  not  rest 
until  the  great  victor  had  in  turn  been  subdued  and  reduced 


52  LAW   AND   JUSTICE. 

to  impotence.  The  ' '  Code  Napoleon' '  embraces  in  brief 
phrases,  clear  and  concise  language,  all  that  is  needed  by  any 
nation  for  the  preservation  of  order  and  proper  exercise  of 
justice, — a  work  of  his  genius  more  lasting  and  beneficial  than 
all  his  splendid  victories.  Why  not  use  this  famous,  incom- 
parable code,  and  take  from  it,  if  not  all,  such  parts  as  are  suit- 
able for  the  United  States  of  North  America  ?  National  pride 
and  unwarranted  conceit  alone  would  perhaps  prevent  it. 

In  the  same  manner,  following  the  footsteps  of  our  cousins 
the  British,  absurd  and  stubborn  in  this  respect,  we  have 
declined  to  introduce  and  enforce  the  Metric  system  of  weights 
and  measures,  the  only  infallibly  correct  method,  leaving  alone 
its  scientific  basis,  which  is  the  circumference  of  the  earth  on 
the  equator.  The  Metric  system  was  the  child  of  the  French 
revolution.  France  was  the  mother  of  ours  in  the  revolutionary 
period,  and  became  our  daughter  in  turn,  when  the  great  cham- 
pions of  American  independence  returned  home  and  diffused  the 
spirit  of  liberty  in  France,  resulting  in  the  overthrow  of  a  rotten 
monarchy  and  its  coherent  evils.  Our  relations  with  France 
have  been  and  are  most  friendly,  and  there  is  nothing 
humiliating  in  the  slightest  degree  in  adopting  that  which  is 
superior,  and  has  been  introduced  for  thirty  years  back  in 
almost  every  civilized  country  in  the  world,  even  by  Germany, 
which  country  cannot  be  accused  of  over- tenderness  for  France. 
There  is  hardly  a  republic  on  the  American  continent  that 
does  not  possess  the  Metric  system.  In  some  of  them  it  had 
to  be  introduced  by  forcible  means,  the  ignorant  as  well  as 
many  of  the  upper  classes  being  so  inveterately  accustomed  to 
their  old  pounds,  yards,  and  liquid  measures. 

When  quite  a  young  man,  during  his  sojourn  in  Mexico,  the 
writer  was  intimately  acquainted  with  the  Governor  of  one  of 
the  principal  States  of  that  Republic,  and  had  the  honor  of 
being  frequently  consulted  by  that  enlightened  and  progressive 
gentleman,  who,  by  the  by,  was  of  the  legal  profession.  When 
a  decree  of  the  Federal  Government  was  published,  ordering 
the  immediate  adoption  of  the  French  Metric  system,  the 
merchants,  tradespeople  and  artisans  paid  no  attention  to  it, 
and  continued  to  use  the  old  Spanish  weights  and  measures. 
The  aforesaid  Governor  mentioned  the  subject  to  us,  and 


LAW  AND   JUSTICE.  53 

expressed  his  disgust  at  the  stupidity  of  the  people  in  resisting 
such  a  beneficial  decree.  We  advised  him  to  employ  an  heroic 
remedy,  send  to  the  capital  for  a  sufficient  supply  of  Metric 
weights  and  measures  received  from  France  at  the  time,  and, 
without  previous  warning,  march  a  squad  of  soldiers  in  charge 
of  a  civil  employee  to  every  store  and  shop  in  the  city,  take  up 
all  the  existing  Spanish  measures,  and  give  them  the  Metric 
measures  in  their  stead,  for  which  they  were  charged  the  cost, 
whilst  the  old  measures  were  destroyed.  Printed  instructions 
accompanied  the  exchange.  The  threats  of  heavy  fines  and 
imprisonment  for  any  person  continuing  to  use  the  old  system 
were  sufficient  to  insure  prompt  obedience  to  the  new  law,  to 
the  great  benefit  of  the  population.  In  the  United  States,  at 
least,  we  have  the  option  of  the  decimal  system  ;  but  the  British 
still  adhere,  alike  to  the  stubborn  octopus,  to  their  pounds, 
shillings,  pence  and  farthings,  etc. 

Again  referring  to  the  prolific  and  tediously  unnecessary 
verbiage  in  the  text  of  our  laws,  the  decisions  of  the  courts, 
the  briefs  and  other  written  proceedings,  and  the  legal  forms 
required  here,  we  beg  to  translate  a  recent  decision  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals  of  Paris  in  the  case  of  an  appeal  by  the  son 
of  a  rich  refiner  from  the  judgment  of  the  Civil  Tribunal,  by 
which  a  so-called  "judiciary  council"  had  been  given  to  him, 
at  the  instance  of  his  widowed  mother,  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
profligate  habits  and  reckless  expenditures  of  her  son.  Said 
decision  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  beautiful  in  its  conciseness 
and  absolute  clearness,  reads  as  follows,  viz. : 

"The  Court,  considering  that  the  judiciary  council  is  a 
measure  of  precaution,  which  leaves  to  the  person  thus 
restrained  the  disposal  of  his  revenues  ;  that  this  measure  is 
only  taken  in  cases  where  the  spendthrift  dissipates  his 
revenues  and  attacks  the  substance  of  his  patrimony  ; 

"  Considering,  in  fact,  that  the  fortune  of  Mr.  M.  L. 
amounts  to  more  than  twenty-seven  millions,  and  that  his 
income  since  the  death  of  his  father  has  amounted  to  nearly 
one  million  three  hundred  thousand  francs  ; 

' '  Considering  that  the  widow,  Madame  L. ,  has  not  been 
able  to  prove  that  her  son's  expenses  have  even  attained  one- 
half  of  said  sum  ; 


54  LAW  AND   JUSTICE. 

"  Considering  that  if  the  maternal  solicitude  of  the  lady  has 
been  moved  by  the  nature  of  certain  engagements  made  by 
her  son,  and  the  compromising  surroundings  accepted  by  him, 
it  is  but  equitable  to  admit  that  he  was  of  an  age  in  which  the 
law  presumes  him  to  be  incapable  of  defending  himself ;  that 
he  had  been  left  to  himself  even  before  the  death  of  his  father ; 
that  since  then  he  has  not  received  the  direction  he  was  in 
need  of;  that  he  had  even  been  removed  from  the  maternal 
domicile ; 

"  Considering,  overmore,  that  for  the  past  year  M.  I,,  has 
been  dedicating  himself  to  the  exercises  of  sport,  the  expenses 
of  which  are  not  disproportionate  to  his  income  ;  that  it  is 
hoped  that  he  will  know  how  to  profit  by  a  dearly  bought 
experience,  and  lead  an  existence  in  conformity  with  his  social 
rank ; 

"  Considering,  finally,  that  it  is  impossible  from  a  legal 
standpoint  to  qualify  as  prodigal  the  expenditures  with  which 
M.  L.  is  reproached  : 

4 'For  these  reasons,  declares  M.  I,,  entitled  to  his  appeal, 
sets  aside  the  judgment  appealed  against,  and  declares  the 
widow  L.'s  demand  for  the  appointing  of  a  judiciary  council 
unfounded,  and  condemns  her  to  the  costs." 

This  ended  the  matter  ;  from  the  Court  of  Appeals  there  is 
no  appeal.  Twenty-seven  millions  would  have  been  a  feast 
for  our  lawyers.  There  would  have  been  no  end  of  litigation  for 
years  to  come, — alleged  insanity  of  the  son,  imbecility  of  the 
mother,  new  trials,  endless  appeals,  and  all  the  other  kindred 
legal  and  illegal  trickery,  such  as  we  are  doomed  to  witness 
almost  every  day,  until  the  cow  is  milked  dry  and  the  arsenal 
of  subterfuges  exhausted.  In  France  and  other  countries 
such  acts  of  spoliation  are  not  tolerated. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention  another  French  court, 
called  the  "  Court  of  Cassation."  Every  condemned  criminal 
has  three  days,  after  sentence  has  been  pronounced,  to  make 
an  appeal.  This  appeal,  however,  is  not  a  privilege  in  the 
American  sense  of  the  word  :  its  purpose  is  simply  to  demand, 
of  the  highest  French  jurisdiction,  if  all  the  necessary  judicial 
formalities  have  been  observed.  The  Court  of  Cassation  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  facts  of  the  case  appealed.  In  this 


LAW   AND   JUSTICE.  55 

respect  the  jury  alone  is  competent  to  pronounce  ;  but  if  there 
be  found  any  violation  of  form,  either  in  the  sentence  of  the 
lower  court,  or  in  the  course  of  the  procedure,  the  Court  of  Cas- 
sation may  annul  that  sentence  and  remand  the  accused  before 
another  jury  court  for  a  new  trial.  This,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
refers  also  to  civil  proceedings.  If  the  Court  of  Cassation 
rejects  an  appeal,  the  criminal  has  no  other  recourse  left  but  the 
clemency  of  the  President,  and,  this  failing,  the  patient  is 
executed  immediately.  Whilst  the  code  allows  but  three  days 
within  which  to  sign  an  appeal,  no  limit  of  time  is  imposed  on 
the  President  for  his  decision. 

This  prompt  execution  of  the  sentence  is  what  we  cannot 
help  admiring.  In  this  country  the  execution  of  the 
"  patient"  is  often  deferred  for  months,  and  all  sorts  of  tom- 
foolery resorted  to  by  his  lawyers  and  friends  to  stay  it  even 
then,  which  we  consider  "cruelty  to  animals,"  a  murderer 
being  nothing  but  a  brute.  The  pardoning  power  should  be 
taken  from  the  Governors  of  the  different  States,  at  least 
as  regards  death  sentences.  These  men  are  not  supposed 
to,  nor  can  they,  know  more  than  the  courts,  judges  and 
juries,  and  their  religious  scruples  or  tenderness  of  heart  often 
places  them  in  a  very  unpleasant  predicament,  it  being  in 
their  power  to  save,  or  not  to  save,  a  human  life,  however 
unworthy  it  may  be.  The  pardoning  power  should  alone  rest 
with  the  Supreme  Court  of  each  State,  and  then  the  moral 
responsibility  would  not  weigh  on  the  conscience  of  one 
single  man.  General  Dix,  when  he  became  Governor  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  saw  the  pardoning  matter  in  this  light. 
In  his  inaugural  address,  a  masterpiece  in  its  line,  he  ex- 
pressly said  :  ' '  Let  no  one  come  to  me  with  any  petition  for 
the  pardon  of  any  criminal ;  I  do  not  consider  that  I  have  the 
right  of  pardon,  and  will  not  listen  to  any  appeal."  And  he 
did  not.  We  still  have  some  public  men  of  unflinching,  ster- 
ling principles,  shining  like  beacon  lights  among  the  vulgar 
masses,  but  unfortunately  not  enough  of  these.  It  is  no  less 
a  consolation  to  know  that  there  are  some  towns  in  this 
country  where  crime  is  of  rare  occurrence,  and  we  cannot 
refrain  from  citing  here  the  proud  though  singular  fact,  that 
the  twenty  thousand  inhabitants  of  Butte  City,  Montana,  are 


56  LAW  AND   JUSTICE. 

of  such  a  peaceful  and  honest  disposition  that  the  police  and 
courts  have  had  almost  nothing  to  do  of  late,  and  are  not  mak- 
ing expenses.  In  the  police  court  of  that  remarkable  city, 
business  had  become  so  slack  in  January,  that  the  fees  and 
fines  amounted  to  but  $48,  and  the  revenues  of  the  city  are 
injured  thereby.  Butte  City  must  certainly  be  inhabited  by 
a  rare  community  of  righteous  men. 


During  his  recent  sojourn  in  Switzerland  the  writer  visited 
several  prisons,  and  was  particularly  struck  by  a  peniten- 
tiary for  lighter  offenses  near  Lucerne,  consisting  of  a  model 
farm  owned  by  the  municipality,  which  has  no  fence  nor 
inclosure  of  any  kind,  nor  could  we  see  any  guards  on  the 
ground.  There  were  some  eighty  or  a  hundred  prisoners 
scattered  all  over  attending  to  the  field,  garden,  cattle,  etc., 
dressed  like  ordinary  people,  and  appearing  to  be  simple  farm 
hands  working  for  —ages.  There  is  one  long,  two-story 
building,  in  which  the  prisoners  are  only  locked  up  at  night, 
and  even  this  building  has  no  iron  grating  on  the  upper 
windows.  It  would  be  easy  for  any  prisoner  to  make  his 
escape,  but  he  knows  well  enough  that  he  would  not  be  long 
in  being  recaptured,  because  he  would  have  no  resources,  and 
the  people  would  discover  and  arrest  him  very  quick  in  such 
an  orderly,  best  regulated,  though  thickly  populated  country. 
In  the  larger  cities  of  Switzerland  even  policemen  are  rarely 
seen.  Everybody  knows  his  rights  and  his  duties  to  an  aston- 
ishing extent. 

Some  years  ago  the  death  penalty  was  abolished  in  Switzer- 
land, but  it  was  soon  found  necessary  to  re-establish  it.  Italy 
would  do  well  to  do  so  likewise,  for  in  that  country  atrocious 
crimes  are  far  too  frequent,  there  being  no  fear  of  execution. 
And  why  should  the  death  penalty  be  abolished  anywhere? 
Voltaire  said:  ''Executions  are  unfortunately  necessary; 
crime  must  be  frightened. ' '  The  assassin  must  be  done  away 
with,  were  it  only  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  com- 
munity, and  even  the  prisoners  in  jail,  from  a  relapse.  On 
the  contrary,  the  murderer  ought  to  suffer  a  more  severe 
penalty  than  that  of  simple,  humane  execution,  if  his  crime 


LAW   AND   JUSTICE.  57 

has  been  attended  by  particularly  heinous  and  atrocious  cir- 
cumstances. In  such  cases  the  ancient  punishment  of  the 
long-term  gibbet,  the  rack  and  quartering  would  be  the 
proper  compensation.  In  different  countries  there  are  differ- 
ent methods  of  execution, — strangulation,  beheading  by  sword 
or  ax,  the  guillotine,  etc.  The  Spanish  collar  ("garrote  ")  is 
about  as  neat  a  process  as  can  be  found ;  the  guillotine  is 
swift  and  sure,  but  accompanied  by  too  much  bleeding  and 
the  ghastly  sight  of  a  headless  trunk  and  a  trunkless  head, 
which  are  thrown  into  a  basket  full  of  sawdust  and  carted 
away  to  the  cemetery,  from  which  the  remains  are  generally 
transferred  to  the  medical  schools.  Condemned  murderers 
ought  to  be  served  with  a  certain  dose  of  lashes  during  one 
week  previous  to  their  doom,  and  then  executed  by  the  process 
of  drowning  in  the  same  manner  as  impounded  dogs,  or  excep- 
tionally atrocious  cases  handed  over  to  the  medical  faculty  for 
"vivisection"  in  the  interest  of  science.  It  happens  fre- 
quently that  a  murderer,  or  other  criminal,  is  acquitted  on  the 
plea  of  emotional  or  temporary  insanity.  The  least  that 
should  be  done  in  such  cases  is  to  consign  him,  or  her,  to 
the  insane  asylum  to  prevent  a  repetition,  and  not  to  set  him, 
or  her,  at  liberty. 

In  no  country  under  the  sun  do  we  find  such  sickening  sym- 
pathy for  criminals  sentenced  for  murder  and  other  high 
crimes,  as  in  this  country.  This  abnormal  and  inexplicable 
affection  on  the  part  of  strangers  for  such  criminals  is  mostly 
confined  to  women,  strange  to  say.  Flowers,  delicacies,  sym- 
pathetic letters,  and  other  marks  of  devotion,  are  things  of 
frequent  occurrence  ;  some  women  even  fall  in  love  with  and 
marry  a  condemned  murderer  on  the  eve  of  the  execution. 
When  a  man  is  in  prison  under  sentence,  he  loses  his  civil 
rights,  and,  even  if  he  is  entitled  to  some  sympathy  under 
certain  circumstances,  he  should  not  be  permitted  to  receive 
any  callers  but  his  nearest  relatives  and  his  counsel ;  much 
less  should  the  law  tolerate  the  performance  of  any  marriage 
ceremony  in  prison,  or  any  other  civil  performance,  to  which 
a  criminal  has  forfeited  all  rights  and  claims. 

This  reminds  us  of  the  subject  of  bonds  and  bail.  Bonds 
may  be  appropriate  in  criminal  cases  to  insure  the  appearance 


58  LAW   AND   JUSTICE. 

of  important  witnesses,  not  otherwise  to  be  trusted,  and,  in  all 
civil  cases,  to  guard  against  trickery,  doing  away  with  prop- 
erty, or  to  hold  litigants  responsible  for  damages  and  the  pay- 
ment of  findings  by  the  courts.  Bail,  however,  for  any  offense 
beyond  simple  battery,  drunkenness,  or  other  trifling  misde- 
meanor, is  an  outrage  to  common  sense,  an  act  of  injustice 
and  of  partiality  in  favor  of  the  man  of  means,  who  struts  about 
at  liberty  pending  his  trial,  against  the  proletarian,  who,  for 
want  of  means,  must  remain  in  jail.  The  bail  business  is  an 
outrage  incompatible  with  our  free  institutions  and  the 
equality  of  man.  In  this  respect,  at  least,  let  there  be  equality 
before  the  law  ;  let  no  guilty  man  be  favored  or  shielded 
because  he  happens  to  be  possessed  of  means.  The  bail 
business  (we  purposely  call  it  "business")  does  more  to 
thwart  the  ends  and  objects  of  justice,  represented  by  the 
courts,  than  corruption,  collusion  and  fraud  combined  together. 
The  bail  system  should  be  immediately  modified  as  above  indi- 
cated ;  every  honest  and  sensible  citizen  will  say  that  we  are 
right  in  this  respect  also.  On  the  other  hand,  we  repeat  that 
the  accused  must  be  brought  to  trial  with  the  least  possible 
preparatory  delay  required  for  a  proper  prosecution.  The 
accused  is  entitled  to  a  speedy  trial,  and  liberation  if  acquitted, 
and  the  ends  of  j  ustice  are  accomplished  thereby  with  greater 
security.  We  have  visited  several  prisons  in  different  sections 
of  the  country,  and  have  but  little  to  say  in  comment ;  in  a 
number  of  them  the  treatment  of  the  prisoners  and  the  disci- 
pline are  not  severe  enough,  considering  the  magnitude  of 
many  crimes.  The  United  States  have  a  number  of  islands 
on  the  Atlantic  as  well  as  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  those  of  the 
latter  being  more  remote  from  the  shore,  larger,  mountainous, 
and  less  accessible  than  the  Atlantic  islands.  Penal  colonies 
ought  to  be  established  on  some  of  these  islands,  especially  on 
those  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  where  the  expenses  of  keeping  them 
would  be  trifling,  and  the  presence  in  our  midst  of  a  crowd  of 
prisoners  thus  avoided.  Every  country  has  the  inherent  and 
undoubted  right  of  expelling  obnoxious  foreigners,  if  not  that 
of  exiling  its  own  citizens.  This  right  of  expulsion  should 
be  exercised  by  our  Federal  Government  much  more  fre- 
quently ;  we  would  thus  be  rid  of  at  least  the  foreign  criminal 


LAW   AND   JUSTICE.  59 

element.  Sentence  a  forger, for  instance,  a  convicted  anarchist, 
etc.,  to  say  ten  years'  hard  labor,  with  expulsion  from  the  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States  at  the  conclusion  of  the  term.  Such 
a  measure  would  strike  the  criminal  element  with  a  wholesome 
terror.  By  the  word  ' '  foreigner ' '  we  mean  those  not  admitted 
to  citizenship,  because  those  who  have  been  naturalized,  and 
reside  in  this  country,  are  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges of  the  native-born  citizen,  except  the  ability  to  become 
its  chief  magistrate.  It  is  alleged,  though,  that  one  of  our 
Presidents  was  of  foreign  birth. 


There  is  a  very  pretty  law  in  Mexico  which  provides  that 
no  person  has  any  business  or  legal  standing  in  court  unless 
he  has  paid  his  current  taxes.  Among  the  first  questions 
asked  by  the  judge  in  open  court  is  this  one,  "Are  you 
solvent  with  the  public  fisc?"  If  j^ou  are  not,  you  better 
march  out  of  court,  and  no  lawyer  can  help  you  if  he  would. 
It  is  a  good  way  of  enforcing  the  payment  of  taxes  so  fre- 
quently shirked  by  our  wealthy  even,  who  resort  to  false 
swearing,  ambiguities,  subterfuges  and  direct  fraud  in  many 
instances  to  reduce  or  avoid  the  payment  of  taxes  altogether  ; 
'nothing  is  done  to  them  by  the  indolent  and  frequently  con- 
niving authorities.  Defrauding  the  State  or  Federal  Gov- 
ernment is  as  much  a  crime  as  is  the  defalcation  of  a  bank 
cashier,  and  should  be  severely  punished  ;  in  most  cases,  how- 
ever; the  culprits  are  allowed  to  slip  through,  if  not  mulcted 
in  a  nominal  amount.  The  punishment  of  petty  larceny  and 
common  theft,  in  fact  of  nearly  all  trifling  transgressions, 
by  our  codes,  is  too  severe,  whilst  the  greater  criminals,  the 
forgers,  embezzlers,  internal  bank  robbers,  and  all  criminal 
transactions  by  those  connected  with  money  handled  in  some 
way  by  the  accused,  are  dealt  with  in  a  much  more  lenient 
manner ;  thus  has  it  become  a  proverb  amongst  our  people, 
that  the  small  thief  is  hanged  and  the  big  robber  allowed  to 
go  free.  Now  and  then  an  unscrupulous  political  boss,  a  jury- 
briber,  a  defaulter,  a  swindling  banker,  is  made  an  example  of ; 
but  such  cases  are  so  rare  that  they  only  serve  to  illustrate  the 
rule. 


60  LAW   AND    JUSTICE. 

The  want  of  jurisdiction,  the  endless  procrastination  of 
justice,  the  doubtful  findings  of  court  and  jury,  and  the  fear 
even  of  final  acquittal  of  red-handed  criminals,  are  the  causes 
of  the  frequent  cases  of  lynching  resorted  to  in  this  country. 
In  truth  the  people  cannot  be  blamed  for  such  summary  pro- 
cess, which  has  the  advantage  of  a  sure  verdict,  prompt  execu- 
tion, and  a  host  of  trouble  and  expense  saved.  If  the  present 
loose  condition  of  judicial  spheres  is  not  speedily  altered,  more 
summary  proceedings  of  this  kind  will  undoubtedly  be  resorted 
to,  until  our  lazy  and  incompetent  legislators  become  alarmed 
and  apply  the  necessary  remedy,  which  is  the  purification 
and  simplification  of  our  laws  and  courts  of  justice  of  all 
degrees,  not  excepting  the  so-called  Supreme  Courts. 


III.    LEGISLATION. 

T  EGISL,ATION  signifies  the  power  to  frame  laws  for  the 
-L/  government  of  the  people.  In  ancient  and  even  more 
recent  times  the  law  was  the  work  of  one  man,  such  as  Moses, 
Solon,  Lycurgus,  Charlemagne,  Charles  V.,  down  to  Napo- 
leon the  Great.  These  individual  laws  were  often  superior  to 
those  made  by  bodies  of  men,  perhaps,  as  Montesquieu  says, 
"because  two  or  three  intelligent  men  may  sometimes  be 
able  to  agree  on  a  rational  proposition,  but  more  never."  It 
is  not  our  province  here  to  enter  into  an  analysis  of  the  many 
laws  that  have  been  promulgated  since  the  remotest  time, 
of  which  we  have  any  records.  Some  of  these  laws  were 
excellent,  to  wit,  Moses,  whose  simple  code,  consisting  of 
but  ten  articles,  comprises  everything  required  in  principle, 
and  even  now  prevails  as  a  basis  for  all  rights  and  obliga- 
tions ;  some  were  execrable  and  lasted  not;  others  too  severe, 
like  Draco's,  or  too  lenient,  like  Solon's.  I,aws  are  neces- 
sarily subject  to  alteration  at  some  time  or  other ;  if  the  neces- 
sity for  a  law  ceases,  it  becomes  obsolete,  even  if  still  on  the 
code,  or  it  is  no  longer  observed,  by  tacit  consent.  Such  laws 
should  be  repealed  and  stricken  from  the  already  too  prolific 
tables.  Too  frequent  tampering  with  the  statutes  and  regula- 
tions of  a  State,  community,  or  in  fact  of  any  organization,  is 
unwise  and  dangerous,  as  it  will  produce  a  feeling  of  insta- 
bility among  the  governed ;  and  this  very  feeling  causes  the 
law  to  be  partly  deprived  of  the  majesty  that  should  surround 
and  guard  it.  In  this  respect  we  have  endless  troubles  and 
difficulties  in  this  country.  The  laws  are  not  devised, 
reviewed,  digested  and  promulgated  by  the  oldest,  the 
wisest,  the  most  incorruptible,  the  most  honorable  and  the 
best  of  our  men.  The  beneficial  action  of  these  is  generally 
paralyzed  by  the  narrow-mindedness,  prejudice  and  ignorance 
of  the  majority  in  our  legislative  assemblies;  and,  if  these 
really  can  agree  upon  some  rational,  necessary  and  beneficial 


62  LEGISLATION. 

measure,  it  is  generally  after  long,  absurd  debates  and  mean- 
ingless perorations  extending  over  a  lengthy  period. 

The  people  (we  mean  by  this  general  term  the  electoral 
citizens)  have  it  in  their  power  to  completely  alter  such  a 
stupid  state  of  affairs  in  a  great,  powerful  and  free  country 
like  the  United  States  of  North  America.  (We  purposely 
add  the  term  "North  America,"  because  there  are  other 
United  States  on  the  American  continent  besides  our  own, 
namely,  the  United  States  of  Mexico,  the  United  States  of 
Colombia,  and  the  United  States  of  Brazil.)  The  matter  is 
simple  enough.  All  we  have  to  do  is  to  elect  only  those  to  sit 
in  the  State  Legislatures  and  Federal  Congress  who  are  duly 
and  truly  qualified  for  the  exalted  and  most  important  trust. 
Our  primary  elections  are  generally  in  the  hands  of  political 
party  bosses,  of  men  who  are  not  entitled  to  such  an  influence, 
or  of  browbeating,  vulgar  and  ignorant  braggarts,  who  impose 
on  a  passive  audience  and  nominate  those  that  often  are  the 
least  fitted  to  enter  the  portals  of  our  legislative  halls  in  the 
sacred  role  of  legislators.  Not  until  a  number  of  those  who 
betray  their  trust  in  the  State  assemblies  and  in  the  national 
Congress  have  been  severely  taken  to  task  on  their  return 
home  at  the  end  of  their  term,  can  we  rely  on  honest,  prompt 
and  useful  legislation.  In  the  same  manner  in  which  a  candi- 
date is  made  to  state  his  views,  intentions  and  principles 
before  his  election,  in  exactly  the  same  manner  should  he  be 
called  to  account  on  his  return  from  the  session,  if  he  has 
betrayed  the  sacred  trust  of  the  people  and  has  become  an 
apostate  to  the  principles  set  up  on  his  platform. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  are  tired  of  incessant  party 
struggles  and  the  harassing  changes  brought  about  by  the 
frequent  elections.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with  the  so- 
called  Presidential  elections,  the  approach  of  which  is  heralded 
already  a  whole  year  in  advance  and  causes  intense  excitement, 
neglect  of  business,  needless,  extravagant  expenditure  of  funds 
collected  and  donated  by  the  foolish  and  the  ambitious,  any 
amount  of  libel  and  slander  and  stupid  attempts  at  literature 
in  our  public  papers,  the  tendency  of  which  depends  entirely 
on  the  amount  of  shekels  at  their  disposal,  the  wages  of  political 
prostitution.  The  people,  we  say,  do  not  want  any  more 


LEGISLATION.  63 

fratricidal  struggles  in  politics ;  they  want  to  march  together 
on  the  road  to  reform  and  political  purity.  Our  representatives 
should  have  the  interest  and  welfare  of  the  greatest  number  at 
heart;  they  should  endeavor  to  enlarge,  not  to  restrict,  the 
political  horizon;  unite  instead  of  dividing ;  set  the  example 
of  respecting  the  laws  they  have  made;  make  the  courts  of  justice 
independent  and  inviolate  enough  to  merit  the  respect  of  all 
honest  people ;  study  and  solve  all  social  questions  without  pro- 
voking the  suffering  classes  to  feelings  of  hatred  and  vengeance; 
respect  sincere  and  honest  convictions,  and  treat  with  becoming 
rigor  all  those  who  believe  themselves  superior  to  the  generality 
of  men  on  account  of  casual  riches,  or  usurpation  of  powers  not 
belonging  to  them  by  right  and  concession.  Such  are  the  qualifi- 
cations of  a  good  representative  of  the  people  in  the  State  and 
national  councils,  and  none  others  should  be  elected. 

Above  all  let  us  get  rid  of  the  unceasing"  conflicts  of  juris- 
diction and  of  authority  ;  in  the  midst  of  these  no  one  is  willing 
or  has  the  courage  to  assume  any  responsibility,  and  chaos  is 
the  result  in  our  public  affairs.  The  last  resort  is  generally  to 
attack  the  constitutionality  of  the  laws,  as  if  two  houses  of  a 
Legislature  and  the  Chief  Magistrate  did  not  know  more  about 
such  a  subject  than  the  insignificant  lawyer  who  alleges  uncon- 
stitutionally of  some  statute  obnoxious  to  his  client.  The 
disgraceful  conflicts  in  the  legislatures  of  several  States  of  the 
Union,  and  the  dangerous  tendencies  toward  arbitrary  action 
on  the  part  of  several  Governors,  are  still  too  fresh  in  the 
memory  of  the  reader  to  further  mention  them  in  these  rapid 
commentaries.  Why  have  we  the  so-called  Supreme  Courts  ? 
What  does  the  term  "supreme"  imply  but  the  highest, — 
nothing  above  and  beyond  ?  All"  conflicts  of  authority,  ques- 
tions of  jurisdiction,  and  doubtful  interpretation  of  the  statutes 
should  be  immediately  brought  before  the  proper  Supreme 
Court  for  an  immediate  decision,  injunction  or  suspension, 
until  such  question  shall  have  been  definitively  settled  by  legis- 
lative action.  Such  matters  as  are  purely  local  and  concern  a 
State  exclusively  must  be  laid  before  the  Supreme  Court  of 
that  State;  and  all  subjects  concerning  the  relations  and  inter- 
course between  the  different  States,  and  belonging  to  the  sphere 
of  the  United  States  authorities  of  all  branches,  as  a  matter  of 


64  LEGISLATION. 

course  should  be  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court.  The  honorable  members  of  that  most 
august  tribunal  in  the  whole  world  are,  and,  if  they  are  not, 
ought  to  be,  so  well  learned  and  proficient  in  all  branches  of 
legislation  and  jurisprudence,  that  they  can  render  a  decision 
' 4  incontinenti, ' '  that  is  to  say,  immediately,  without  any  delay 
or  hesitancy  whatever.  This,  of  course,  applies  also  to  the 
Supreme  Courts  of  the  States.  No  case  of  any  nature  whatso- 
ever ought  to  remain  in  abeyance  in  these  courts  for  any  period 
beyond  a  week  or  two. 

Neither  is  it  necessary  to  write  lengthy  opinions  still  more 
complicated  and  incomprehensible  than  many  of  the  cases 
themselves.  It  is  not  opinions  we  want ;  it  is  decisions,  the 
prompt,  fi nal  and  conclusive  winding  up  of  all  pending  questions. 
It  takes  from  six  months  to  three  years  before  a  case  comes  up 
for  hearing  before  a  Supreme  Court,  and  then  it  may  remain 
buried  there  for  an  eternity.  Is  not  this  a  monstrous  outrage  ? 
Can  there  be  no  end  to  litigation  ?  There  is  another  serious 
defect  in  our  Supreme  Courts,  and  that  is  the  singular  and  stupid 
manner  in  which  the  decisions  are  rendered  and  published. 
When  a  case  goes  to  the  Supreme  Court  it  is  accompanied  by 
a  transcript,  written  or  printed,  of  the  proceedings,  complete,  in 
the  lower  court.  Nothing  else  is  needed,  and  no  attorneys 
should  be  allowed  to  have  any  connection  with  that  case,  nor 
interfere  with  it,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  any  manner  whatever, 
except  it  be  that  the  court  itself  summon  them  for  informa- 
tion. The  papers  must  be  taken  in  hand  immediately,  and  the 
decision  rendered  without  any  delay  further  than  that  absolutely 
indispensable.  The  decision  must  be  announced  as  "the 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court, ' '  and  not  as  the  decision  of  a 
majority  of  its  members,  as  is  so  often  the  case.  What  does  it 
matter  to  the  people  in  general,  what  to  the  litigating  parties, 
if  five  of  the  judges  are  of  one  opinion  and  four  of  another  ? 
The  majority  decides  the  case,  and  a  decision  is  all  we  want, 
nothing  more  and  nothing  less.  The  nonsensical  practice  of 
writing  and  publishing  the  opinions  of  both  the  majority 
and  minority  of  the  members  of  the  Supreme  Courts 
does  more  to  bring  those  bodies  into  contempt  than  any  of 
their  other  organic  diseases  and  defects.  An  appellant  has, for 


LEGISLATION.  65 

instance,  a  case  in  a  Supreme  Court  involving  the  loss  or  gain 
of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  which  has  been  hanging 
fire  for  the  usual  five  years.  A  "hearing  "  (it  should  be  a 
"reading"  by  rights)  is  reached  at  last,  and  a  decision 
rendered  adverse  to  his  claim.  Mr.  Justice  A,  B,  C,  D  and  E 
concur  in  an  opinion,  which  is  generally  written  out  by  one 
of  these  brilliant  legal  luminaries  in  a  prolific,  incomprehen- 
sible and  chaotic  style.  Mr.  Justice  F,  G,  H  and  I  dissent, 
and  one  of  their  minority  number  also  dilates  on  their 
view  of  the  question  in  no  less  ridiculous  jargon.  Will 
not  the  defeated  litigant  very  naturally  think  that  the 
right  of  the  other  side  has  not  been  sufficiently  established 
by  one  single  majority  vote,  and  that  he  has  been  the  victim  of 
a  judicial  error  or  prejudice,  if  not  worse.  There  is  no  appeal 
from  the  decisions  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  not 
even  to  Divine  Providence,  the  latter  being  but  the  plalonic  re- 
course of  prayer;  and  this  august  tribunal  must  be  surrounded 
by  all  the  prestige  and  awe  that  alone  can  render  it  supreme  in 
the  full  sense  of  the  term .  The  concurrence  or  dissent  of  the 
different  members  of  the  Supreme  Courts  are  matters  that  do 
not  concern  the  parties  interested  and  the  public ;  they  do  not 
vitiate  or  affect  the  decision  by  any  means,  and  should  not  be 
made  public,  but  kept  in  the  private  records  of  the  tribunal, 
inaccessible  to  any  outsider.  The  Supreme  Court  (as  one 
body  and  one  soul)  must  render  its  decisions  without  any 
further  explanation  or  humbuggery,  and  that  ends  the  matter 
forever. 


The  legislative  assemblies  of  the  different  States  generally 
consist  of  two  bodies,  the  Senate  and  the  Lower  House,  the 
latter  bearing  different  titles  in  the  several  States  of  the  Union. 
Bills  for  legislation  may  originate  in  either  house,  but  require 
the  sanction  of  both  and  the  approval  of  the  Governor  to 
become  laws.  Bills  sent  from  one  house  to  the  other  are  in 
most  cases  amended,  returned,  re-amended,  and  again  returned 
half  a  dozen  times,  and  much  precious  working  time  is  thus 
lost,  the  expense  coming  out  of  the  people's  pocket.  This 
interchangeable  bill  business  of  two  houses  reminds  one 


66  LEGISLATION. 

forcibly  of  the  celebrated  game  of  shuttlecock.  There  is 
endless  oratory,  brainless  speechmaking,  lobbying,  intriguing, 
buying  and  selling,  obstructing,  filibustering,  procrastinating, 
absenting,  abstaining  from  voting,  and  general  apathy,  all  alike 
subversive  of  political  morality  and  apt  to  bring  the  Legisla- 
tures into  contempt,  barring  their  inutility. 

There  is  no  necessity  for  any  Senate  in  the  State  organiza- 
tions ;  on  the  contrary,  such  bodies  only  contribute  to  hinder 
prompt  and  rational  legislation.  It  is  different  with  the  Federal 
Congress,  where  a  higher  body  of  that  kind  may  be  useful  on 
account  of  the  vast  amount  of  executive  business  sent  in 
by  the  Government  during  the  sessions ;  but  in  a  simple  State 
Legislature  a  Senate  is  superfluous  as  well  as  detrimental  and 
expensive,  and  ought  to  be  abolished.  An  assembly  of 
representatives  of  the  people,  lawfully  elected  by  absolutely 
pure  and  secret  ballot,  is  sufficient  for  all  purposes  such  as  the 
household  affairs  of  each  State.  These  bodies  should  meet  as 
seldom  as  possible,  say  every  four  years,  and  not  be  permitted 
to  sit  longer  than  three  months.  In  this  way  the  too  frequent 
disgraceful  spectacle  of  wrangling,  incompetent  assemblies  will 
be  spared  us,  and  less  harm  will  be  done,  not  counting  the 
economy  in  the  expenses  of  the  State. 

The  veto  power  of  a  Governor,  too,  is  an  anomaly  in  flagrant 
contradiction  with  free  institutions  and  the  principles  of 
democracy.  The  only  attributes  of  a  State  Governor  in  this 
respect  should  be  the  faculty  of  returning  a  seemingly  ob- 
noxious measure  to  the  assembly,  with  his  brief  and  sensible 
commentaries  and  a  polite  request  to  give  it  further  consider- 
ation, and  no  two-thirds  vote  should  then  be  required  to  pass 
such  a  law  a  second  time,  but  a  simple  majority  vote.  A 
State  Senate,  moreover,  considering  the  system  of  permanent 
employment  of  officials  no  longer  subject  to  the  caprices  of 
political  changes,  would  have  no  object  and  no  real  work  to 
perform.  The  United  States  Senators  could  be  elected  by  the 
single  assembly  j  ust  as  well.  As  to  these  exalted  dignitaries,  it 
is  doubtful  whether  the  electors  in  general  know  the  candidates 
sufficiently  to  be  able  to  make  the  proper  choice  ;  but  the  more 
limited  assembly  may  and  in  fact  have  by  far  greater  facilities 
for  investigating  them.  The  public  can  only  be  misguided  by 


LEGISLATION.  67 

the  interested  newspaper  articles,  the  bragging  speeches  of  the 
candidates  and  their  supporters,  and  the  prejudice  of  the  parties. 
Bribery  in  private  is  a  grave  offense,  but  bribery  in  elections 
is  still  more  reprehensible  ;  and  any  individual  discovered  in 
such  practices,  whether  it  be  the  anxious  candidate  or  the 
venial  assemblyman,  should  be  punished  by  at  least  twenty 
years  at  hard  labor,  and  be  forever  deprived  of  civil  rights,  be 
he  the  most  powerful,  influential  and  wealthy  in  the  land. 
We  lay  stress  on  this  because  it  is  an  undisputed-  fact 
that  a  number  of  successive  Senators  in  certain  States  have 
purchased  their  seats  for  hard  cash,  often  distributed  in  a  fear- 
less and  impudent  manner.  In  these  cases  the  motto,  "  Honi 
soit  qui  mal y  pense, ' '  would  be  ill  employed. 


The  Federal  Government  of  the  United  States  has  exclusive 
control  of  the  import  duties,  the  internal  revenue,  the  coinage 
of  money,  the  lighthouses, the  life-saving  stations,  the  navi- 
gable lakes  and  rivers,  the  foreign  policy,  the  postoffice,  and 
the  army  and  navy.  The  writer  has  had  a  pretty  complete 
insight  into  all  these  branches,  and  has  found  them  managed 
with  care  and  honesty.  As  to  the  system  of  accounts  kept  by 
the  Government,  it  can  hardly  be  surpassed  in  any  country. 
A  most  rigorous  scrutiny  of  all  accounts  is  kept  in  the  differ- 
ent departments  of  the  Government.  There  is  not  an  account, 
however  trifling  it  may  appear,  that  does  not  go  to  Washing- 
ton, and  no  error,  no  discrepancy,  can  possibly  escape  the  close 
scrutiny  of  the  auditors  of  the  Treasury  at  Washington,  where 
the  different  accounts  are  all  received  periodically  with  their 
corresponding  vouchers.  From  the  auditors  they  go  to  the 
comptrollers  of  the  Treasury,  two  in  number,  who  again 
examine  them  with  the  greatest  care,  and  with  a  minuteness 
as  to  origin,  object  and  technical  execution  to  an  extent  that 
renders  error  difficult  and  fraud  almost  impossible.  How 
would  it  be  if  each  State  were  to  manufacture  its  own  money, 
have  its  own  independent  military  and  naval  forces,  its  own 
postal  department,  etc.?  The  disorder,  confusion  and  roLL»ery 
would  be  something  appalling,  and  the  mere  thought  of  it 


68  LEGISLATION. 

makes  every  honest  man  shudder.     Now,  if  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment can  thus  be  safely  intrusted  with  these  all-important 
national  branches  of  the  administration  of  the  whole  country, 
and  does  it  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  nation,  why  not  confide 
to  the  Federal  Government  the  control  of  railroads  and  tele- 
graphs.    Both  are  as  much  national  institutions   as  are  the 
Postoffice  Department,  the  mint,  and  the  army  and  navy.     The 
sooner   Congress   provides    for   the   gradual   purchase  of  the 
greater  railroads  and  of  all  the  telegraphs  the  better  it  will  be 
for  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  our  people.     In  our  humble 
opinion  this  measure  is  of  the  greatest  importance,  and  only 
those  few  who  are  personally  interested  in  the  present  con- 
dition of  things  will  entertain  a  contrary  opinion,  and  work 
with  all  their  might  to  prevent  the  transfer  of  railroads  and 
telegraphs  to  the  Federal  Government,  where  they  belong  and 
should  ever  remain.     The  measure  works  very  well  in  many 
Kuropean  States,  where  we  have  seen  and  examined  it  closely 
with  our  own  eyes.     As  long  as  the  railroads  and  telegraphs 
are  in  possession  of  private  individuals  and  powerful  corpora- 
tions of  unscrupulous  and  scheming  men,  so  long  will  there 
be  immense  fortunes,   excessive  charges  and  oppressive  treat- 
ment of  passengers,  with  high  rates  of  freight  to  crown  the 
mighty   extortion.     The  Government  can  and   will   run    the 
great  roads  on  such  terms  and  at  such  rates  as  will  forever 
insure  equitable  management,   and    leave  each  fiscal  year  a 
respectable  profit  to  the  national  treasury,  by  virtue  of  which 
other  burdens  of  taxation  may  be  removed  from  the  unfor- 
tunate community.     If  one  line  does  not  pay,  but  is  necessary 
for   easy   transportation  and  communication    between  certain 
regions,  the  other  lines  will  amply  supply  the  deficiency  with- 
out any  necessity  of  suspending  the  operation  of  the  former,  as 
is  done  under  the  existing  condition  of  affairs.     Our  million- 
aires and  railroad  magnates  have  already  reaped  a  more  than 
sufficient  harvest  since  the  hundreds  of  roads  have  been  built 
and  operated;  let  the  General  Government  take  them  in  hand 

now,  and  the  saying,   ' '  The  people  be  d , ' '  will  certainly 

not  be  repeated. 

Speaking  of  our  American  railroads,  we  must  admire  the 
enterprise    and    perseverance    of   those   who    planned    these 


u  &  ;  T  Y 


LEGISLATION.  69 

gigantic  constructions ;  but  they  were  not  built  to  benefit  and 
accommodate  the  people,  to  facilitate  transportation  of  freight 
and  promote  communication  ;  they  were  executed  exclusively 
for  the  benefit  and  pecuniary  advantage  of  the  owners,  not 
for  any  other  purpose.  Competition,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
and  the  necessity  of  catering  in  some  respects  to  the  wishes 
of  the  traveling  public,  imposed  the  duty  of  providing  fine 
cars,  coaches  and  sleepers;  but  the  traveler  is  nevertheless 
treated  with  contempt,  and  his  real  personal  comfort  is  a  matter 
of  secondary  importance.  Some  Kastern  railroads  are  well  con- 
structed, solid  and  comparatively  safe ;  when,  however,  it  comes 
to  as  complete  and  perfect  management  as  we  have  seen  in 
Europe  almost  everywhere,  there  is  a  great  deal  yet  lacking. 
The  tracks  are  not  carefully  enough  laid,  and,  what  is  worse, 
not  sufficiently  guarded.  The  ties  in  this  country  are  not 
imbedded  entirely  in  the  ground,  as  they  should  be,  because 
the  interested  railroad  people  say  that  they  will  not  rot  so 
fast  overground.  Why  do  they  not  rot  any  faster  on  the 
European  roads,  where  only  the  rails  are  visible  over  the 
earth,  and  the  bed  is  nicely  graveled  and  sanded,  a  process 
that  will  allow  any  obnoxious  object  to  he  distinguished  a 
long  distance  ahead.  Wherever  the  Government  owns  or 
controls  the  roads,  a  sufficient  number  of  guards  are  employed, 
who  are  stationed  at  certain  short  distances,  occupying  small 
dwellings  especially  erected  for  them  and  their  families,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  walk  over  their  section  of  the  road  at  certain 
intervals,  and  give  warning  of  anything  out  of  order.  These 
people  also  attend  to  closing  the  barriers  at  the  crossings  of 
all  roads  before  the  passage  of  trains,  and  this  constant  care 
and  watchfulness  contribute  not  a  little  to  the  great  security 
one  so  hugely  enjoys  on  the  European  railroads.  Accidents, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  liable  to  happen  everywhere,  but  they 
are  quite  rare  on  the  old  continent.  The  railroads  in  Switzer- 
land are  a  model  in  this  respect  as  in  every  other.  After 
nearly  forty  years  of  comparatively  few  and  unimportant  acci- 
dents, there  came  in  1891  two  awful  catastrophes  near  Bale 
and  Berne,  on  the  occasion  of  the  six  hundredth  anniversary 
festivities  of  Swiss  independence,  when  an  overloaded  train  of 
excursionists  fell  through  a  solid  iron  bridge  with  two  heavy 


70  LEGISLATION. 

locomotives  attached  to  the  head  of  the  train  near  the  former, 
and  a  collision  took  place  for  similar  reasons  near  Berne, 
both  resulting  in  the  horrible  death  and  wounding  of  hun- 
dreds of  unfortunate  tourists.  Here  again  the  exception 
makes  the  rule.  Corporations  in  our  country  will  reduce  the 
number  of  employees  as  much  as  they  possibly  can,  regard- 
less of  the  safety  and  comfort  of  the  passengers,  because  there 
must  be  dividends,  and  good  dividends  too.  A  government 
has  no  such  propensities  toward  economy  and  will  employ 
the  requisite  number  of  men,  clever,  temperate  and  trust- 
worthy for  the  better  advancement  of  the  service.  This  is 
another  reason  why  the  Government  should  be  the  owner 
or  at  least  strictly  superintend  and  control  the  management 
of  all  railroads.  There  are  a  number  of  roads  that  have 
failed  to  pay  their  indebtedness  and  taxes  to  the  Federal 
Government ;  these  roads  should  be  at  once  seized,  held  and 
run  by  it  on  its  own  account.  There  are  Federal  and  State  rail- 
road commissioners,  but  these  are  not  invested  with  sufficient 
powers,  and  not  infrequently  connive  with  the  owners  of  the 
roads,  thus  fooling  the  people  and  the  Government,  which 
amounts  to  the  same  thing  after  all. 

Our  American  cars  are  too  long  and  heavy  ;  they  must  bear 
with  tremendous  force  on  the  good  staunch  rails  and  the  more 
or  less  badly  constructed  roadbeds.  Go  to  Switzerland  and 
examine  their  neat  and  cosy  cars,  and  do  not  find  fault  with 
them  on  account  of  their  exterior  plain  and  modest  appearance. 
In  nine  out  of  ten  of  our  cars  it  requires  a  herculean  force 
to  open  a  window  ;  somehow  or  other  they  are  always  tight ; 
not  so  in  the  Swiss  cars,  where  you  can  graduate  the  opening 
from  the  top  down,  which  is  infinitely  more  handy.  The 
conductors  and  brakemen  are  quiet,  serious  and  exquisitely 
polite,  and  the  passengers  are  subject  to  rules  and  restrictions 
conducive  to  mutual  comfort ;  and,  if  they  were  not,  the  nat- 
urally courteous  behavior  of  the  public  there  renders  the  inter- 
course easy  and  agreeable.  The  first  and  second  classes  of 
cars  are  very  fine  and  comfortable  ;  the  third  class  has  wooden 
backs  and  benches,  but  will  do  for  short  trips  in  summer. 
The  railroad  depots  are  monuments  of  art,  beauty,  order  and 
comfort  for  the  public  as  well  as  the  administration  ;  even  the 


LEGISLATION.  71 

smaller  road  stations  have  an  air  of  neatness  and  solidity 
about  them,  being  generally  ornamented  with  plants  and 
shrubbery,  that  are  very  pleasing  to  the  eye. 


Marriage  and  Divorce  /  Two  extremes  of  bliss  and  despair  ! 
There  is  no  country  under  the  sun  where  the  marriage  ceremony 
is  looked  upon  with  such  cool  indifference,  and  where  the  sacred 
bonds  of  matrimony  are  so  wantonly  and  easily  severed,  as 
the  United  States  of  North  America.  People  get  married  on  the 
spur  of  the  moment  on  the  slightest  provocation  ;  all  that  is 
required  is  to  swear  that  you  are  of  age,  get  your  license  and 
go  before  a  minister  of  any  denomination,  before  a  justice  of 
the  peace,  or  a  sea-captain,  who  will  splice  the  knot.  In  the 
same  loose  and  flippant  manner  is  the  marriage  dissolved, 
and  you  are  at  liberty  to  make  another  and  half  a  dozen  experi- 
ments. 

The  people  are  not  so  much  to  blame  for  this  shameful  state 
of  affairs  as  the  legislators,  who  have  framed  absurd  marriage 
and  divorce  laws,  under  the  rotten  pretext  of  personal  liberty 
of  action,  that  are  a  disgrace  and  outrage  to  a  great  nation  like 
ours.  Better  abolish  the  formality  altogether  and  live  like 
other  animals ;  it  would  be  less  hypocritical  and  scandalous 
than  the  present  system. 

There  is  nothing  more  sacred  and  important  on  earth,  and 
consequently  with  more  reason  in  a  civilized  and  well-regulated 
State,  than  the  lawful  propagation  of  mankind,  governed  by 
the  proper  statutes  and  formalities.  Such  laws,  to  be  general 
and  uniform  for  all  the  States  of  the  Union,  should  be  framed 
at  once  by  the  Federal  Congress,  and  the  sooner  the  better. 

We  will,  for  the  sake  of  a  praiseworthy  example,  cite  the 
Civil  Courts  ("  Registro  Civil")  of  Mexico.  These  are  special 
courts  established  in  each  district  for  the  exclusive  purpose  of 
registering  all  births  and  deaths  and  performing  civil  marriages 
in  a  proper  and  legally  formal  manner.  Within  three  days 
after  the  birth  of  an  infant  it  must  be  reported  in  the  respective 
court  (not  in  a  miserable  health  office),  in  the  presence  of  the 
father  and  two  witnesses  ;  this  report  is  placed  on  the  records 
and  a  certificate  issued  of  the  act,  so  that  every  native  inhabitant 


72  LEGISLATION. 

of  the  country  is  registered  in  court  and  can  be  readily  identified. 
Deaths  must  be  reported  in  the  same  solemn  manner,  and  are 
entered  on  the  corresponding  register  to  cancel  the  entry  of 
birth.  The  civil  marriage  ceremony  is  still  more  complex, 
and  surrounded  by  every  possible  guarantee.  In  the  first  place 
the  contracting  parties  must  be  of  legal  age  and  prove  it,  too, 
not  by  a  dubious  oath,  or  hearsay,  but  by  positive  testimony  ; 
they  must  have  the  consent  of  their  living  parents,  or,  in  lieu 
thereof,  of  their  guardians,  or  nearest  relatives  ;  there  must  be 
no  impediment  of  a  previous  binding  nature,  and,  to  makedoubly 
sure  that  there  are  no  such  impediments,  the  names  of  the 
candidates  for  wedlock  are  posted  up  on  the  public  square  for 
forty  days.  After  all  these  requisites  have  been  complied  with, 
the  civil  ceremony,  which  is  the  only  one  recognized  by  law, 
is  performed  by  the  judge,  in  court  or  at  the  residence  of  the 
parties  concerned,  and  the  proper  certificate  of  marriage  issued. 
With  this  certificate  the  couple  can  go  to  church,  if  they  choose, 
and  be  married  in  accordance  with  their  religious  creed.  A 
heavy  penalty  and  imprisonment  is  imposed  on  any  clergyman 
celebrating  a  christening,  marriage,  or  funeral,  without  the 
presentation  to  him  of  the  corresponding  certificate  from  the 
civil  court.  As  a  matter  of  course,  all  these  formalities  are 
subject  to  fees,  but  it  is  but  right  that  those  who  are  born  and 
die  should  pay  for  the  privilege,  leaving  alone  those  that  get 
married.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  very  formalities  of  the 
law,  the  time  that  elapses  between  first  acquaintance,  engage- 
ment, and  the  final  elaborate  ceremonies,  contribute  immensely 
to  impress  the  contracting  parties  with  the  solemnity  and  vital 
importance  of  the  act,  which  they  consider  as  binding  and 
indissoluble.  Add  to  this  the  absence  of  divorce  from  the 
dogma  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  you  will  admit  that  marriage 
in  Mexico  is  no  trifling  daily  affair  as  in  this  country,  but  a 
serious,  binding  and  lasting  institution. 

We  have  cited  the  example  of  the  neighboring  republic 
because  we  are  only  too  apt  to  depreciate  the  institutions  of 
that  country,  whilst,  on  the  contrary,  we  could  go  and  learn  a 
great  deal  from  the  Mexicans.  The  same  or  similar  laws  are 
in  force  in  France,  Switzerland  and  other  civilized  countries. 
It  is  very  strange  indeed  that  there  are  not  regular  legal 


LEGISLATION.  73 

registers  kept  of  every  man,  woman  and  child  born  and  living 
in  the  United  States.  The  identification  of  the  individual  for 
all  ordinary  and  legal  purposes,  as  well  ^s  in  certain  contingen- 
cies, is  of  great  importance,  and  can  be  much  better  and  more 
easily  procured  from  authentic  records  than  from  the  doubtful 
habit  of  swearing  to  everything.  The  judicial  oath  in  our 
country  becomes  almost  worthless  on  account  of  the  frequent, 
barefaced  perjury  practiced,  and  which  is  rarely,  if  ever, 
punished.  In  ancient  times  the  right  hand  was  stricken  off 
as  a  slight  reminder  of  the  gravity  of  a  sworn  statement. 
Much  of  what  appears  to  us  barbarous,  cruel  and  incompatible 
with  modern  ideas  of  civilization  in  the  centuries  past  could 
be  again  resorted  to  nowadays  with  beneficial  results  for  the 
community. 

Uniform  divorce  laws  for  the  whole  United  States  of  North 
America  are  most  urgently  needed,  allowing  no  divorce 
proceedings  to  be  even  commenced  in  any  court  but  for  good 
and  valid  reasons,  such  only  as  adultery,  real  and  absolute 
cruelty,  abandonment  for  the  space  of  three  years,  or  criminal 
impeachment.  Nor  should  the  party  against  whom  a  decree 
of  divorce  is  given  be  allowed  to  remarry,  nor  either  party 
be  permitted  to  marry  again  under  any  circumstances  before 
the  expiration  of  one  year.  Adultery  should  be  punished  by 
fine  or  imprisonment,  or  both,  according  to  the  gravity  of  the 
case.  Parties  marrying  under  age  without  parent's  or  guar- 
dian's consent  should  be  imprisoned,  the  marriage  declared 
void,  and  they  should  not  be  released  until  of  legal  age.  It  is 
understood  that  no  marriage  license  is  to  be  granted  except  on 
the  severe  but  just  conditions  above  mentioned  ;  and  any 
person,  be  he  priest,  minister,  rabbi  or  dervish,  who  consents 
to  perform  a  marriage  ceremony  without  presentation  of  such 
license,  should  be  arrested  and  punished  by  a  heavy  fine  and 
imprisonment  of  at  least  one  year.  In  this  manner  and  in  no 
other  can  the  demoralizing  evil  of  hasty,  flimsy  and  stupid 
marriages  be  rooted  out  permanently,  and  the  solemn  and 
beautiful  act  of  marriage  be  restored  to  its  proper  dignity. 
Children  born  outside  of  legal  wedlock  should  not  be  permitted 
to  inherit,  otherwise  they  are  placed  on  an  equal  footing  with 
legitimate  children  ;  exception  could  be  made  in  cases  where 


/  4  LEGISLATION. 

illegitimate  children  are  formally  recognized  by  their  father  in 
the  civil  court.  Speaking  of  adultery,  we  would  refer  our 
readers  to  the  ' '  equestrian  ' '  punishment  meted  out  to  female 
culprits  in  old  England  but  a  few  hundred  years  ago,  in  which 
a  donkey  played  a  conspicuous  part.  The  crime  in  our  days 
is  considered  fashionable,  and  hardly  ever  punished  in  this 
country. 


We  will  allow  women,  in  consideration  of  their  physical 
weakness  as  compared  with  man,  every  possible  privilege  and 
courteous  consideration ;  but  woman  must  remain  in  her 
proper  sphere,  which  is  the  household  and  the  home,  not  the 
office,  the  type-machine,  the  telegraph,  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, and  other  scientific  and  business  pursuits  in  which  they 
are  entirely  out  of  place  and  unsex  themselves.  There  are  in 
this  respect,  as  in  every  other,  exceptions  to  be  made,  but 
they  should  be  few.  The  wrangling  and  bragging  about  the 
' '  rights  of  women  ' '  is  all  bosh.  Any  woman  who  behaves  her- 
self properly  and  attends  exclusively  to  the  not  very  easy  cares 
and  management  of  her  home  and  household,  be  it  that  of 
her  husband,  or  her  parents,  or  her  brothers,  is  entitled  to  all 
the  rights  and  privileges  her  sex  confers  upon  her  in  the 
natural  course  of  things  ;  those  women  that  go  beyond  that 
sacred  and  time-honored  sphere  render  themselves  subject  to 
criticism,  ridicule  and  often  even  contempt.  We  were  present 
at  the  Woman's  Rights  Congress  held  in  Madison,  Wisconsin, 
in  October,  1879,  by  invitation  of  Governor  Smith,  and  enjoyed 
the  female  oratory  hugely,  although  the  nonsense  developed 
on  that  occasion  on  the  podium  made  us  feel  pity  for  the 
deluded  ladies  in  the  midst  of  our  hilarity.  If  our  ladies 
desire  absolute  equality  with  and  independence  of  man,  let 
the  champions  of  woman's  rights  and  their  deluded  sisters 
found  a  great  woman's  State  in  some  of  our  empty  territories,  to 
the  entire  exclusion  of  the  stronger  sex,  and  try  the  experi- 
ment of  independence.  Although  we  write  this  in  a  banter- 
ing spirit,  we  are  really  in  earnest  and  cannot  help  foreseeing 
the  dangers  of  the  pretended  female  emancipation  and  the 
consequent  destruction  of  the  family  system,  which  has 


LEGISLATION.  75 

reigned  uninterruptedly  for  thousands  of  years  to  the  satis- 
faction of  all  concerned.  It  is  fortunately  but  a  certain  and 
limited  species  of  women  who  advocate  emancipation  ;  the 
immense  majority  are  still  all  right. 

If  woman's  proper  sphere  is  in  the  household  and  the  home, 
that  does  not  mean  to  imply  that  she  should  pass  all  her  time 
at  the  washtub,  the  cooking  stove  and  the  sewing  machine. 
Many  are  so  fortunate  as  to  have  one  or  more  servants,  who 
perform  the  rougher  and  more  disagreeable  part  of  the  domes- 
tic work ;  in  that  case  the  presiding  lady  of  the  house  may 
take  it  easy, and  her  conscience  remain  all  the  more  tranquil, 
as  she  renders  material  aid  and  assistance  to  her  less  fortunate 
sister  by  paying  her  wages  and  giving  her  a  home,  things 
also  to  be  much  appreciated  by  these  latter. 


Anarchism,  the  nefarious  doctrine  of  indiscriminate  destruc- 
tion of  life  and  property,  the  apology  of  murder  and  of  social 
and  political  dissolution,  is  another  great  danger  we  shall  have 
to  contend  with  in  the  near  future.  This  threatening  evil 
is  the  more  to  be  feared,  because  it  is  in  the  power  of  a  small 
group  of  men,  nay,  even  of  one  solitary  individual,  to  work 
immense  havoc  among  the  blamable  as  well  as  the  harmless 
and  innocent  portion  of  the  population  ;  and  it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  guard  against  the  attack  of  an  anarchist,  when  he 
carries  the  deadly  engine,  called  a  bomb,  of  no  larger  size  than 
a  sardine  box,  concealed  on  his  miserable  person.  If  his 
outer  appearance  and  dress  do  not  excite  any  particular 
attention,  it  is  easy  for  him  to  mix  up  with  a  crowd  and  pene- 
trate into  popular  assemblies,  theaters,  and  even  legislative 
bodies,  to  carry  out  his  infamous  designs.  Their  doctrine  of 
annihilation  seems  to  be  so  firmly  rooted  in  their  sickly 
brains,  that  the  sacrifice  of  their  own  wretched  lives  for  the 
good  of  their  cause  does  not  in  the  least  deter  them.  We 
have,  during  the  past  few  years,  seen  the  work  of  the  anarch- 
ists in  many  countries  besides  the  United  States,  the  most  das- 
tardly and  deadly  effects  having  been  those  in  the  theater 
of  the  Liceo  in  Barcelona  and  in  the  French  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties. Execution  of  the  perpetrators  and  imprisonment  of  their 


76  LEGISLATION. 

accomplices  appear  to  have  produced  but  little  effect  to  stop 
the  evil,  and  fresh  fanatics  come  forth  almost  immediately 
to  renew  the  crime  on  pretense  of  avenging  the  fallen  martyrs. 
Rigorous  measures  have  been  taken  in  France  and  other 
countries  to  destroy  the  infamous  sect,  but  these  will  have  but 
little  result,  unless  the  different  governments  come  to  a  perfect 
understanding  about  reciprocal  efficient  aid  in  this  direc- 
tion. Even  then  it  will  be  but  a  fruitless  task  to  root  out  the 
fanatical  anarchists,  as  long  as  they  are  able  to  lay  their  hands 
on  the  material  wherewith  to  manufacture  their  bombs.  We 
refer  to  the  ordinary  powder,  the  high  explosives,  fulminates 
and  acids,  which  are  sold  to  any  one  able  to  pay  for  them  and 
having  the  necessary  nerve  and  chemical  knowledge  for  their 
preparation. 

The  men  who  have  invented  these  substances  and  combina- 
tions are  indirectly  more  to  blame  for  their  bequest  to  fighting, 
quarreling  and  raging  humanity,  than  the  wretches  who  avail 
themselves  of  their  terrible  explosive  power  against  their 
fellow-beings.  The  godfather  of  these  gloomy  inventors  is 
Nobel  of  Sweden,  who  discovered  the  combination  of  nitric 
acid  with  glycerine  some  thirty  years  ago.  He  thought  he 
had  endowed  technical  mankind  with  a  powerful  explosive  for 
blasting  purposes,  probably  little  dreaming  that  his  bequest 
would  blast  many  thousands  into  eternity  by  careless  handling, 
spontaneous  ignition  and  foreplanned  wholesale  assassination. 
We  can  see  but  one  efficacious  remedy  against  this  continual 
enormous  danger  in  our  midst,  and  that  would  be  to  prohibit 
the  manufacture  of  these  high  explosives  altogether,  making 
it  a  penal  offense  equal  to  murder  in  the  first  degree  ;  or  at 
least  restrict  their  sale  to  Government  circles,  and  not  furnish 
them  to  any  one  who  does  not  give  the  most  explicit  proof  of 
the  purposes  for  which  he  intends  to  employ  them,  and  hold 
him  responsible  for  any  consequences  that  may  arise  thereby, 
with  his  life  and  property.  Return  to  your  old  gunpowder 
and  smoothbore  cannon  ;  use  none  other  if  fighting  must  still 
go  on  ;  stop  at  once  to  build  those  uncouth,  clumsy,  costly 
and  most  unmanageable  monsters  called  ironclads  and  steel- 
clads ;  build  wooden  men-of-war  as  of  yore,  and  do  fair  and 
honorable  fighting,  face  to  face,  like  our  forefathers,  instead  of 


LEGISLATION.  77 

stealing  with  your  torpedo-boats  in  the  dead  of  night  upon  your 
mammoth  enemy,  sending  the  fishlike  engine  of  destruction 
into  his  flank,  and  the  costly  ironclad  with  its  human  freight 
to  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  These  immense  floating  steel 
fortresses  called  battleships,  armored  cruisers,  and  coast  de- 
fenders, cost  millions  upon  millions  of  dollars ;  they  are 
clumsy,  unwieldy  and  difficult  to  handle  ;  their  machinery 
for  propelling  and  steering  the  monster  craft,  for  handling  the 
cannon,  and  for  lighting  the  interior,  is  too  complicated  and 
delicate  to  be  secure  and  durable.  They  can  only  maneuver 
in  deep  water  ;  if  the  engines  break  down  they  are  utterly 
helpless  ;  a  collision  will  send  them  to  the  bottom  like  a 
bar  of  pig  lead,  as  we  have  seen  so  frequently  during  the  past 
years,  and  their  combative  efficiency  remains  still  to  be  proven. 
None  of  these  modern  ironclads,  without  sailing  apparatus  in 
case  of  disaster,  should  ever  attempt  to  cross  the  oceans ;  and 
it  may  be  fairly  presumed  that  every  soul  of  the  crew  on  board 
of  them,  officers  as  well  as  sailors  and  marines,  entertains  a 
secret  fear  of  impending  disaster.  One  of  these  naval  monsters 
sailed  (or  rather  steamed)  from  Portsmouth  harbor  in  England 
some  years  ago,  with  seven  hundred  men  on  board,  on  a  short 
experimental  cruise,  and  no  trace  was  ever  seen  or  heard  of 
her  ;  she  must  have  gone  down  with  man  and  mouse  without 
any  warning  and  means  of  salvation.  The  monster  cannon, 
too,  can  only  be  fired  about  twenty  times,  each  shot  costing 
over  a  thousand  dollars,  when  they  become  unserviceable.  It 
was  poor  and  beautiful  Italy  that  first  commenced  building 
these  absurd  modern  men-of-war,  and  all  other  nations  quickly 
followed  her  example,  until  there  has  sprung  up  a  perfect  fury 
of  rivalry  who  should  produce  the  thickest  plating  and  the 
biggest  armament.  Another  anomaly  in  modern  warfare  is 
the  almost  exclusive  use  of  enormous  shells  intended  to  destroy 
a  vessel  and  annihilate  the  entire  crew  or  a  regiment  of  soldiers 
by  one  explosion  ;  on  the  other  hand  it  is  by  derision  con- 
sidered inhuman  to  use  an  explosive  rifle-bullet  that  might 
inflict  an  incurable  wound  on  a  single  individual. 

Returning  to  the  subject  of  high  explosives,  they  are  still 
in  their  infancy.  By  far  more  powerful  agents  of  chemical 
destruction  will  yet  be  invented,  when  the  mysteries  of  the 


73  LEGISLATION. 

original  elements  and  their  terrible  combinations  shall  be  more 
deeply  penetrated.  The  writer  mentions  this  hypothesis  for 
the  following  reason  :  When  a  young  man  and  an  amateur 
student  of  chemistry,  he  made  it  a  favorite  pastime  to  mix  all 
sorts  of  substances,  solid  and  liquid,  acids  and  alkalis,  to  see 
what  the  experiment  might  bring  forth.  He  came  near  shar- 
ing the  fate  of  the  friar  Berthold  Schwartz,  the  inventor  of 
gunpowder,  who  bent  over  his  mixture  and  was  blown  to 
atoms.  One  day  the  writer  had  prepared  a  certain  composi- 
tion of  three  liquids,  one  of  them  being  apparently  entirely 
harmless  in  its  organic  state.  He  had  the  compound  in  a 
small  retort  over  an  alcohol  lamp,  perhaps  not  more  than  a 
couple  of  ounces,  and  had  occasion  to  leave  the  isolated  one- 
story  adobe  building  for  a  few  minutes  -to  go  across  the  large 
yard.  A  most  terrific  explosion  followed,  and  the  concussion 
threw  him  to  the  ground  with  mouth  and  nose  bleeding, 
though  fortunately  not  otherwise  harmed  ;  no  one  else 
happened  to  be  in  the  immediate  neighborhood.  When  the 
ruins  were  examined,  it  was  found  that  the  two-foot  adobe 
walls  were  bulged  out  by  the  explosion,  the  roof,  rafters  of 
cedar  wood,  in  splinters,  and  not  a  vestige  of  the  laboratory 
and  furniture  could  there  be  seen,  whilst  the  hard  brick  floor 
was  completely  torn  up  and  reduced  to  dust.  Now,  if  two  or 
three  ounces  of  this  mixture  could  produce  such  a  formidable 
result  when  heated,  what  would  not  be  the  appalling  effect  of 
a  gallon,  or  a  barrel,  of  the  same  composition,  that  seemed  to 
segregate  the  two  component  gases  of  the  air  itself !  It  would 
have  resulted  in  the  destruction  of  the  whole  town.  Therefore 
we  say  that  high  explosives  are  in  their  infancy  yet.  After 
the  foregoing  catastrophe  we  never  touched  one  of  these 
ingredients  again,  much  less  did  we  attempt  any  further 
experiment  afterwards  ;  the  secret  was  consigned  to  oblivion. 
Extraordinary  measures  must  be  taken  everywhere,  especially 
in  the  United  States,  where  the  police  system  is  less  extensive 
and  under  too  many  different  heads,  and  where  there  is  no 
national  police,  to  counteract  the  machinations  of  anarchism. 
We  are  living  in  times  of  intense  excitement,  restlessness  and 
sullen  dissatisfaction  among  the  toiling  and  disinherited  class 
of  the  people.  Crazy  notions  are  contagious,  fast  spreading 


LEGISLATION.  79 

(to  wit,  the  fashions),  and  when  it  already  comes  to  a  plan 
to  gather  one  hundred  thousand  workingmen,  march  to  the 
national  capital,  and  there  dictate  to  Congress  the  laws 
they  want  to  be  made,  there  is  no  saying  to  what  further 
extremes  the  people  may  want  to  go, — such  extremes  as  pro- 
duce anarchy  in  the  State,  if  it  were  not  already  smouldering 
in  the  larger  cities,  no  knowing  to  what  dangers  our  legislative 
bodies  may  be  subjected  in  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  capitols. 
Access  to  these  assemblies  is  by  far  too  easy ;  visitors  go  in 
and  out  without  any  order  or  restraint.  This  is  entirely 
wrong.  Even  admitting  that  the  sessions  of  our  State  Legisla- 
tures and  those  of  the  national  Congress  should  be  open  to  the 
public,  since  not  all  can  be  admitted  for  want  of  space,  there  is 
no  earthly  reason  why  those  who  enter  should  not  be  subject 
to  certain  regulations  concerning  the  good  behavior  and  quiet 
of  the  spectators  in  the  galleries,  leaving  the  disgrace  of  dis- 
orderly acts  and  speeches  to  the  wiseacres  on  the  floor.  In 
European  parliaments,  be  they  monarchical  or  republican,  no 
one  is  allowed  to  enter  the  legislative  chambers  without  a  card 
of  admission,  which  can,  however,  be  easily  obtained  from  any 
of  the  deputies  or  senators,  or  from  the  competent  officials 
employed  in  the  building  itself.  The  result  is  that  the 
audiences  there  are  decent,  orderly  and  well-behaved,  subject 
to  proper  control,  whilst  this  is  far  from  being  the  case  in  our 
assemblies,  in  which  the  spectators  are  often  composed  of  a 
large  rowdy  element  going  in  and  out  at  will,  laughing,  chat- 
ting and  spitting  tobacco  juice  as  much  as  they  please.  Our 
nation  is  celebrated  for  its  spitting  propensities,  a  most  dis- 
gusting, nasty  and  unhealthy  habit  anyway.  Those  who 
cannot  smoke  without  spitting  should  not  smoke  at  all, 
because  spitting  is  highly  injurious  and  apt  to  produce  con- 
sumption; those  who  must  spit  should  know  when,  where  and 
how  to  do  it,  in  order  not  to  be  obnoxious  to  the  ladies  and 
well-bred  men. 

All  governments  should  be  anxious  and  willing  to  cooperate 
in  taking  the  necessary  practical  measures  against  anarchism 
and  the  other  enemies  of  society.  The  best  means  the  different 
nations  could  adopt  is  not  so  much  to  extend  the  power  of 
expulsion  as  to  entertain  a  rigorous  and  unceasing  system  of 


80  LEGISLATION. 

mutual  warning  and  information.  The  authorities  of  the  dif- 
ferent countries  should,  moreover,  take  common  steps  to  pro- 
tect each  other  by  punishing  those  who  threatened  public 
tranquillity.  Owing  to  the  frequent  use  of  the  deadly  bomb 
by  the  anarchists,  the  chambers  of  parliament  in  Vienna  and 
Paris  have  already  been  provided  with  an  apparatus  which 
enables  the  president  of  the  assembly  to  close  all  doors  lead- 
ing thereto  simultaneously  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the 
assassins,  at  least  if  the  throwing  of  the  bomb  cannot  be 
foreseen.  Extraordinary  precautions  have  also  been  taken  to 
protect  public  buildings.  All  of  which  is  respectfully  recom- 
mended to  our  own  governing  circles.  It  is  entirely  useless 
and  hopeless  to  try  to  convert  an  anarchist  to  better  senti- 
ments :  the  police,  the  juries  or  courtsmartial  alone  can  be  of 
use  by  prompt  and  vigorous  suppression. 


If  anarchism  is  the  deplorable  result  of  the  unsatisfactory 
condition  of  immense  numbers  of  our  workingmen,  laborers 
and  artisans,  and  of  the  misery  that  seems  to  be  spreading 
more  and  more  in  every  direction,  even  in  this  glorious  coun- 
try, where  by  rights  there  should  be  no  want,  no  privation  ; 
if  anarchism  resorts  to  acts  of  violence,  murder  and  incen- 
diarism, and  consequently  must  be  condemned  by  all  right- 
minded  persons,  we  must  be  more  indulgent  with  regard  to 
the  socialist  party,  which  in  Europe,  in  the  first  place,  advo- 
cates the  abolition  of  the  monarchical  system  of  government, 
and,  in  the  second  place,  there  and  in  this  country,  a  more 
equitable  distribution  of  the  necessities  and  amenities  of  life. 
The  socialists  at  least  hold  open  meetings  free  to  everybody ; 
their  doctrines  are  not  of  a  destructive  tendency;  they  endeavor 
to  make  proselytes  by  oral  and  written  propaganda,  by  persua- 
sion and  conviction,  not  by  violent  means.  This  being  a  coun- 
try of  free  speech  and  free  print,  no  particular  objection  can 
be  made  to  the  spread  of  socialism,  which  is  comparatively 
harmless,  and  no  repressive  laws  are  necessary  against  social- 
ists unless  they  should  change  their  present  attitude  and 
become  aggressive. 


LEGISLATION  81 

The  French  people  have  but  little  inclination  to  emigrate 
to  foreign  countries,  not  even  to  their  own  colonies,  the 
larger  ones  in  Asia  and  Africa  being  of  more  recent  acqui- 
sition. This  is  principally  on  account  of  their  ardent  love 
for  their  native  soil,  a  quality  much  less  prominent  with  the 
Teutonic  race,  and  also  on  account  of  the  prosperity  enjoyed 
by  the  inhabitants  of  what  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  richest 
and  best-governed  countries  on  earth.  The  expression  "of 
the  world"  is  anomalous,  because  the  universe  contains  an 
infinity  of  earths,  which  we  hope  and  trust  may  be  inhabited 
by  a  wiser  and  better  set  of  beings  than  that  inhuman  animal 
called  homo  sapiens  instead  of  homo  imbecilis,  which  would 
be  his  right  appellation.  The  abolition  of  private  property 
in  France  has  very  little  chance  to  find  many  adherents,  for 
the  simple  reason  that  almost  every  Frenchman  is  possessed 
of  private  property,  as  we  may  see  from  the  following  facts 
and  figures,  viz.: 

The  population  of  the  great  French  Republic,  working 
under  the  symbolical  charter  of  ' '  liberty,  equality,  fraternity, ' ' 
and  which  in  that  country,  the  same  as  in  Switzerland,  are 
not  mere  idle  and  hollow  conceptions,  is  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  thirty-eight  millions.  Of  these,  four  millions  are 
owners  of  French  rents,  equivalent  to  our  Government  bonds, 
earning  perhaps  three  per  cent  interest ;  eight  millions  are 
depositors  in  savings  banks,  and  eight  millions  owners  of  real 
estate  in  cities  and  country.  These  figures  are  taken  from 
the  official  records  and  cannot  be  contradicted  by  any  one. 
No  other  country  on  earth  can  produce  such  tangible  proofs 
of  a  widespread  diffusion  of  the  public  wealth  in  individual 
hands.  In  England  the  Government  rent  is  in  the  hands  of 
two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  holders  ;  thus  we  find  seven- 
teen creditors  of  the  State  in  France  against  one  in  Great 
Britain.  This  proportion  is  about  the  same  in  all  other 
branches  of  public  economy  and  wealth  in  the  two  countries. 

If  it  is  an  easy  task  to  count  the  number  of  depositors  in  the 
French  saving  banks,  institutions,  by  the  by,  placed  under  the 
immediate  supervision  and  control  of  the  authorities,  it  is  less 
so  to  estimate  the  holders  of  movable  or  personal  property  in 
France  ;  but  we  can  safely  say  that  the  man  who  possesses 


82  LEGISLATION. 

neither  a  passbook  in  some  savings  bank,  nor  a  Government 
bond,  nor  stock  of  some  sort  in  an  enterprise  or  corporation, 
has  become  an  exception  in  France.  The  eight  thousand  mil- 
lions of  personal  property,  supposed  to  be  the  patrimony  of 
the  French  people,  are,  in  a  great  measure,  stowed  away  in 
iron  safes  and  woolen  stockings. 

Another  great  factor  in  the  prosperity  of  France  is  the  dis- 
tribution of  realty,  which  is  the  most  surprising  of  all,  and 
forms  a  solid  barrier  against  the  progress  of  socialism  and 
communism.  The  authors  of  the  French  Civil  Code  are  justly 
entitled  to  the  greatest  eulogy  ;  they  probably  foresaw  that  the 
laws  governing  the  forcible  division  of  estates  among  the  legal 
heirs  would  sooner  or  later  become  the  strongest  bulwark  for 
public  peace,  and  that  they  would  convert  France  into  a 
democracy  of  property  owners.  We  sometimes  hear  reac- 
tionary spirits  advocate  the  re-establishment  of  large  estates 
somewhat  in  the  feudal  manner,  but  these  antediluvian  fossils 
have  never  looked  around  the  agricultural  portion  of  the 
country.  In  comparison  to  one  large  estate  or  domain  that 
is  reconstituted  we  find  twenty  divided  and  parceled  inheri- 
tances, and  by  this  process  a  gradual  legal  distribution  of 
property  is  effected,  which  the  creators  of  disorder,  the  com- 
munists, anarchists  and  other  enemies  of  society,  want  to  bring 
about  by  force,  revolution  and  bloodshed.  How  many  com- 
munities in  France  and  inhabitants  of  villages  are  by  far 
richer  than  the  owner  of  the  castle  or  palace,  rearing  its  pin- 
nacles and  turrets  above  the  more  humble  dwellings  of  the 
plebeian  ?  To-day  the  immense  majority  of  rural  electors  in 
France  own  landed  property  ;  the  agricultural  proletariat  has 
almost  ceased  to  exist,  and  farm  hands  are  often  sent  for  from 
Italy  and  Belgium  to  gather  in  the  harvests.  In  France  the 
land  belongs  to  the  cultivator  and  not  to  the  bloated  capitalist 
and  greedy  speculator,  as  is  the  case  in  these  United  States. 

There  is  no  earthly  reason  why  a  similar  condition  of  things 
should  not  exist  in  the  United  States  of  North  America.  Still 
more  :  this  should  be  the  most  prosperous  and  happy  country 
of  all,  because  we  have  more  land,  more  virgin  and  fertile  soil 
than  France,  and  our  free  institutions  ought  to  afford,  if  they 
do  not  afford,  all  possible  facilities  in  the  world  for  the  indi- 


LEGISLATION.  83 

vidual  to  own  something  more  than  a  bare  living,  and  to  enjoy 
happiness.  Our  laws  of  tenure  of  real  estate  in  cities  and 
agricultural  lands  must  be  repealed  and  utterly  altered,  and 
our  people  be  prevented  by  statute  or  by  force,  if  need  be,  to 
agglomerate  in  and  make  a  hell  out  of  the  big  cities. 


An  official  inquiry  into  the  length  of  working  hours,  and  the 
rates  of  wages  paid  in  the  department  of  the  Seine  (Paris  and 
'  suburbs),  was  recently  held  by  order  of  the  French  Govern- 
ment, and  showed  the  following  interesting  facts,  viz. : 

The  usual  daily  working  time  varies  from  ten  to  eleven 
hours ;  the  average  time  does  not  reach  ten  hours  and  a  half 
outside  of  supplementary  hours,  but,  including  these,  would 
increase  this  limit  somewhat.  Steady  work  of  an  even  dura- 
tion of  nine  hours  and  less  is  rare.  It  appears  that  the  days 
on  which  extra  hours  are  given  often  exceed  twelve  hours  and 
rarely  attain  fourteen.  The  length  of  a  day's  work,  meals 
included,  is  generally  about  one  hour  and  a  half  longer  than 
the  actual  working  day, — on  an  average  twelve  hours.  It  has 
also  been  observed  that  the  number  of  average  productive 
days  in  one  year  is  about  310,  Sundays  and  feast  days  being 
generally  kept  free  from  labor.  The  average  salary  for  one 
day's  work  is  about  6-i-  francs  for  adult  workmen,  and  3.15 
francs  for  women.  About  60  per  cent  of  the  workingmen  have  a 
salary  ranging  from  4.75  francs  to  7.25  francs;  more  than  75 
per  cent  earn  from  4.25  francs  to  7.75  francs;  nearly  all 
female  toilers  earn  from  2  to  4  francs.  It  is  proper  to  state 
that  the  average  wages  paid  to  the  same  special  class  of  workers 
seems  to  be  but  little  inferior  in  other  parts  of  France  outside 
of  Paris.  Wages  by  the  piece  are  not  ordinarily  superior  to 
those  paid  for  work  by  the  day,  a  few  industries  excepted. 

It  will  be  readily  seen,  from  the  foregoing  figures,  that  the 
wages  paid  to  the  working  men  and  women  in  France  are 
decidedly  higher  than  in  our  country,  if  we  consider  the  dif- 
ference in  the  cost  of  nourishment,  clothing,  rent,  necessaries, 
etc.  A  man  can  do  more  with  five  francs  a  day  there  than 
with  two  dollars  and  a  half  here  ;  neither  are  they  so  fre- 
quently forced  out  of  work  as  our  own  workingmen,  because 


84  LEGISLATION. 

the  condition  of  industries,  manufactures  and  business  in 
general  is  by  far  better  regulated  in  France  and  subject  to 
fewer  vicissitudes  than  in  the  United  States.  It  is  frequently 
alleged  that  this  country  is  young  yet,  not  quite  developed 
and  fully  regulated  ;  but  we  cannot  understand  why,  after  a 
hundred  years  of  experiments,  with  our  immense  resources 
and  no  less  considerable  natural  wealth,  free  and  liberal  insti- 
tutions and  the  presumed  sagacity  of  our  legislators  and  states- 
men, a  more  favorable  state  of  the  industrial  affairs  of  this 
country  has  not  been  effected  yet.  Noboby  but  the  blind  and 
unreasonable  will  deny  that  the  condition  of  our  laboring 
classes  is  far  from  satisfactory,  and  that  these  honest  toilers 
deserve  and  are  entitled  to  a  far  better  fate.  The  American 
employer  in  general  looks  upon  his  employees  with  improper 
harshness  and  egotistical  imaginary  superiority  :  he  treats  them 
little  better  than  chattels  ;  exacts  the  longest  hours  with  the 
smallest  possible  compensation  ;  seldom  has  a  kind  or  friendly 
word  for  them,  and  often  discharges  them  like  menials  with- 
out a  word  of  warning.  Not  so  in  the  neighboring  Republic 
of  Mexico.  If  an  employer  wants  to  dispense  with  the  services 
of  a  clerk,  servant  or  other  employee,  he  is  required  to  give 
him  either  one  month's  previous  warning,  or  put  down 
before  him  one  month's  salary,  unless  he  has  been  guilty  of 
the  greatest  misconduct  or  dishonesty.  In  cases  of  insol- 
vency the  salaries  due  to  employees  must  be  paid  in  full 
before  any  other  creditor  is  satisfied.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
Mexican  laws  have  a  decided  tendency  to  protect  the  working- 
man  from  the  arbitrary  actions  and  miserly  spirit  of  the 
employers.  It  may  also  be  interesting  here  to  state  that  a 
bankrupt  mercantile  concern,  or  individual,  must  be  able  to 
pay  at  least  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar,  otherwise  he  goes  to 
jail  as  a  fraudulent  insolvent  debtor.  The  law  there  requires 
sets  of  regular  account  books  to  be  kept  by  business  men  ; 
these  books  are  registered  in  a  fiscal  office,  the  leaves,  lines 
and  columns  on  each  page  counted  and  stamped  by  the  proper 
authorities.  Erasures,  interlining,  corrections  and  additions 
are  strictly  prohibited.  A  merchant  may  have  as  many  extra 
sets  of  books  as  he  pleases,  but  the  set  prescribed  by  law  must  be 
kept  in  strict  accordance  with  the  law,  and  this  set  alone  is  valid 


LEGISLATION.  85 

in  court.  Fraudulent  failures  and  other  tomfoolery  resorted 
to  in  our  country  on  every  occasion  are  very  rare  in  Mexico, 
and  parties  who  have  once  gone  through  bankruptcy  there 
will  hardly  ever  get  into  business  again,  because  faith  and 
confidence  in  them  has  been  lost.  A  federal,  uniform  bank- 
ruptcy law  and  stricter  supervision  over  the  affairs  of  our 
business  community,  who  form  important  factors  in  our  com- 
monwealth, are  also  much  needed  to  prevent  the  daily  swindles 
and  fraudulent  failures  that  have  become  a  national  cancer. 
It  is  true  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  competition,  partly 
attributable  to  the  enormous  and  baneful  influx  of  foreigners  ; 
still  one-half  of  the  failures  could  be  avoided  by  the  proper 
restrictive  measures.  The  French  Government  has  found  it 
expedient  to  oblige  foreigners  residing  in  the  country,  to  make 
a  declaration  of  their  names,  ages,  places  of  birth,  profession, 
domicile,  and  the  localities  where  they  exercise  their  profes- 
sion or  trade.  This  latter  clause  refers  more  particularly  to 
the  class  of  nomadic  workingmen,  who  travel  from  town  to 
town  and  remain  for  some  length  of  time  in  the  places  where 
they  find  work.  Those  foreigners  who  disregard  this  law 
are  arrested,  and,  if  convicted,  subject  to  a  fine  varying  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  francs,  in  default  of  which  they  receive  a 
fortnight's  free  board  and  lodging  in  jail.  How  does  this  com- 
pare with  the  mild  and  humane  requirement  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  promulgated  two 
years  ago,  that  every  Chinaman  in  the  country  could  regis- 
ter within  one  year,  and,  failing  to  do  so,  did  not  suffer  the 
slightest  inconvenience.  On  the  contrary,  they  defied  the 
laws  of  Congress  and  sanction  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  an 
offensive  and  insolent  manner,  trusting  in  the  proverbial 
apathy  and  weakness  of  a  government  that  ought  to  excel 
above  all  others  by  the  inexorable,  prompt  and  pitiless  appli- 
cation of  its  decrees,  be  they  even  unjust  and  harsh.  "Dura 
lex,  sed  lex."  (It  may  be  harsh,  but  it  is  the  law.) 


Amongst  other  evils  that  we  are  afflicted  with  are  the  so- 
called  ' '  detective  agencies. ' '  These  are  tacitly  tolerated  and 
recognized  by  the  authorities,  and  their  minions  often 


Ob  LEGISLATION. 

considered  as  valuable  auxiliaries  to  the  State  and  Federal  police 
departments.  So  they  may  perhaps  be  for  all  we  know  ;  but 
the  very  existence  of  these  agencies  is  a  symptom  of  weakness 
on  the  part  of  the  regularly  established  lawful  institutions  of 
public  safety.  Some  of  these  detective  agencies  have  pompous 
titles  to  cover  a  multitude  of  sins.  Not  one  of  them  is  organ- 
ized for  any  other  purpose  but  gain  and  lucre.  They  hire  their 
services  to  any  one  able  to  pay  for  them,  and  furnish  single  spies, 
sneaking  watchers,  to  shadow  members  of  a  family,  clerks  and 
employees,  bank  cashiers  and  other  people.  Corporations  can 
secure  from  some  of  these  agencies  any  number  of  able-bodied, 
well-armed  and  drilled  men  to  defend  their  rights  and  property 
against  the  more  or  less  justified  attacks  by  rioters  and  strikers, 
or  the  nefarious  designs  of  the  anarchists.  In  the  latter  case 
there  may  be  some  excuse  for  their  services,  because  the  com- 
bined power  of  the  State  is  hardly  adequate  to  cope  with  those 
terrible  enemies  of  society,  who  are  everywhere  and  nowhere, 
and  too  many  hands  cannot  be  raised  for  their  destruction. 
In  principle  it  is  entirely  inadmissible  as  well  as  contrary  to 
all  notions  of  national  propriety  to  allow  any  such  organiza- 
tions to  exist,  much  less  to  pompously  advertise  their  head- 
quarters and  services.  If  a  person  chooses  to  hire  a  sneak  or 
spy  to  watch  and  follow  the  doings  and  actions  of  another,  and 
keeps  the  matter  to  himself,  or  to  herself,  it  cannot  well  be 
prevented.  Should  the  shadower  be  discovered  by  the  object 
of  his  secret  attention  his  hide  and  bones  might  be  endangered, 
as  has  happened  many  a  time.  Loud  and  vehement  complaints 
have  been  raised  repeatedly  over  the  interference  of  bodies 
of  detective  agencies  in  strikes  and  other  quarrels  between  labor 
and  capital.  The  matter  of  their  unlawful  actions  and  conse- 
quent suppression  was  even  laid  before  Congress  not  long  ago. 
A  great  deal  was  talked,  discussed  and  written  on  this  impor- 
tant subject,  committees  appointed  and  volumes  of  testimony 
taken,  as  if  the  whole  question  were  not  of  the  simplest  solution  ; 
but  as  usual  all  ended  in  gas,  and  the  detective  bureaus  are  still 
in  existence  and  thriving.  The  hirelings  that  surrendered  to  a 
superior  body  of  strikers  at  that  time  ought  to  be  forever  and 
ever  grateful  to  their  captors,  who,  in  their  just  indignation 
and  fury  over  the  insolent,  unjustified,  unlawful  attack  of  their 


LEGISLATION.  87 

stronghold  by  the  myrmidons  of  a  private  corporation,  could 
easily  have  slain  the  whole  batch,  a  fate  they  certainly  de- 
served. The  idea  of  having  armed  bodies  of  men  at  the  ready 
disposal  of  any  individual  and  company  of  moneyed  men, 
whom  we  are  foolish  enough  to  call  ' '  solid,  prominent  and 
influential"  without  any  discrimination,  is  very  humiliating  to 
our  national  pride  and  dignity.  What  have  we  municipal  police 
officers  and  detectives  for  ?  and  the  National  Guard  and  the 
Federal  army  ?  In  accordance  with  the  degree  of  seriousness 
of  any  local  or  general  trouble,  either  of  the  said  forces  ought 
to  be  quite  sufficient  to  deal  with  any  riot  or  rebellion,  be  they 
on  private  or  political  grounds.  No  citizen  should  be  per- 
mitted to  hire  his  services  for  armed  attack  or  defense  to  any 
individual  or  corporation  for  money.  If  a  citizen  is  desirous  of 
aiding  and  supporting  the  lawful  authorities  to  insure  respect 
of  the  laws,  public  order  and  security,  he  is  welcome,  pro- 
vided the  authorities  seek  and  require  such  aid;  but  under  no 
circumstances  should  he  be  permitted  to  keep  regular  estab- 
lishments and  publicly  offer  his  sendees  or  those  of  his 
hirelings  for  money  and  compensation  to  any  one  that  may  feel 
inclined  to  secure  such  services.  As  a  matter  of  course  only 
the  wealthy  and  the  powerful  corporations,  that  so  often  dis- 
grace the  community,  can  afford  to  make  use  of  the  detective 
forces  ;  if  the  strikers  were  in  a  position  to  pay  as  much  and 
more  than  the  corporations  for  their  services,  the  hirelings 
would  be  at  their  disposal  in  the  same  manner  no  doubt. 

Whilst  writing  these  lines  we  see  a  dispatch  in  the  papers 
about  the  controversy  between  the  Governor  of  one  of  the 
States  of  the  Union  and  the  courts.  The  State  capitol  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  sheriff,  supported  by  the  entire  police  force; 
the  Governor  has  called  out  the  militia,  and  several  regi- 
ments are  formed  in  battle  array  around  the  building. 
Not  feeling  quite  confident  of  the  action  of  the  citizen- 
soldiers,  who  generally  do  not  care  to  provoke  a  conflict 
or  participate  in  a  quarrel  they  have  not  caused  and  feel  no 
interest  in,  the  Governor  appeals  to  the  President  for  Federal 
troops,  who  arrive  during  the  night,  and  their  presence,  as 
usual,  has  the  magic  effect  of  preventing  bloodshed,  perhaps 
wholesale  slaughter.  Such  disagreeable  things  are  getting 


88  LEGISLATION. 

too  frequent  in  this  country,  and  it  is  all  and  exclusively 
owing  to  the  want  of  proper  supreme  authority  over  the 
inferior  factors  of  the  Government,  continually  in  some  con- 
flict with  each  other.  State  Supreme  Courts  must  be  invested 
with  the  absolute  power,  in  such  cases  of  conflict,  emer- 
gency and  public  danger,  to  immediately  step  in,  whether 
by  demand  or  not,  enjoin  the  contending  parties,  and  render 
a  temporary  order  binding  on  the  dissidents  until  the  ques- 
tion shall  have  been  properly  decided  ;  and  such  decision 
must  not  be  deferred,  but  given  without  any  delay  in  pref- 
erence to  any  other  matter.  A  further  provision  will  be 
necessary ;  the  Constitution  should  be  amended  so  as  to 
give  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  the  power 
and  make  it  its  duty,  if  the  State  Supreme  Court  is  not 
respected  and  obeyed,  to  declare  the  rebellious  State  "in 
interdict,"  and  to  order  the  President  to  send  a  sufficient 
force  of  United  States  troops  to  the  scene  of  trouble,  restore 
order  by  all  means,  and  make  such  disorderly  State  pay  all 
expenses  from  the  moment  the  repressive  troops  are  moved 
until  they  can  safely  return  to  their  original  cantonments. 
The  way  we  are  now  situated,  we  must  either  take  prompt  and 
vigorous  steps  to  uphold  this  great  and  glorious  Union  or  see 
it  rapidly  go  to  decay  and  dissolution.  This  catastrophe  can 
only  be  prevented  by  granting  the  Federal  Government 
greater  powers,  and  by  modifying  our  laws  to  bring  them  in 
accord  with  the  requirements  of  the  times  and  the  nation. 


The  existence  of  mercenary  bodies  of  armed  men,  furnished 
by  the  so-called  national,  State  and  private  detective  agencies 
to  whomsoever  is  willing  and  able  to  pay  for  their  services, 
looks  very  much  like  the  organizations  of  the  landsknechts, 
freebooters,  bandoliers  and  "  condottieri"  of  the  middle  ages, 
who  often  to  the  number  of  many  thousands  gathered  under 
the  banner  of  some  renowned  chieftain,  such  as  the  Counts  of 
Armagnac  and  Mansfeld,  and  hired  their  services  to  the  highest 
bidding  prince,  irrespective  of  political  and  religious  opinions, 
espousing  his  cause  for  the  mere  sake  of  pay,  plunder  and 
rapine.  To  their  credit  it  must  be  said  that  those  mercenary 


LEGISLATION.  89 

companions  in  arms  did  good  service  and  splendid  fighting  for 
the  cause  they  once  had  enlisted  in,  as  long  as  their  pay  was 
served  to  them  regularly  or  they  were  allowed  the  privilege 
of  sack  and  plunder.  This  sort  of  thing,  long  since  abolished 
in  Europe,  appears  to  be  introduced  now  in  this  country,  and 
we  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  it. 

Whenever  great  criminals,  like  train-robbers,  highwaymen 
and  murderers  manage  to  escape  from  the  pursuit  of  justice  and 
cannot  be  apprehended  by  ordinary  means,  the  simplest, 
shortest  and  cheapest  way  is  to  set  a  price,  a  fine  good  price, 
on  their  heads,  and  they  are  sure  to  be  betrayed  into  the  hands 
of  the  law,  dead  or  alive,  because  treason  and  the  greed  of  gold 
are  rampant  everywhere.  This  reminds  the  writer  of  an  inter- 
esting episode  in  this  line  that  took  place  in  1857  ln  a  large 
mining  town  in  the  center  of  Mexico,  being  the  capital  of  a 
State  of  the  same  name.  It  was  at  the  time  of  the  fierce  civil 
war  carried  on  with  unusual  violence  and  cruelty  between  the 
two  political  parties.  There  were  quite  a  number  of  small  bands 
of  armed  partisans  under  the  leadership  of  some  daring  robber 
or  escaped  assassin,  and  their  principal  resources  consisted  in 
levying  forced  contributions  on  small  towns,  villages  or 
ranches,  in  addition  to  occasional  subsidies  from  the  party  they 
had  ostensibly  espoused.  One  of  these  robber  chiefs,  named 
Trinidad  Rivera,  a  cruel  and  fearless  partisan,  having  already 
seventeen  murders  to  his  personal  credit,  had  become  so  bold 
and  aggressive,  that  the  Governor  (the  same  we  have  men- 
tioned in  a  previous  chapter)  found  it  necessary  to  send  out 
bodies  of  cavalry  to  destroy  the  robber  band  and,  if  possible,  to 
capture  Rivera.  One  expeditition  after  the  other,  however,  was 
defeated  by  the  daring  chief,  and  some  went  over  to  him  with 
arms  and  all.  A  whole  regiment  of  infantry  led  to  no  better 
result,  and  returned  to  the  capital  of  the  State  with  diminished 
files.  The  situation  became  serious  and  dangerous  for  the  Gov- 
ernment with  such  a  strong  band  of  lawless  opponents  in  the 
field.  A  consultation  was  held  and  the  Governor  advised  to 
proclaim  a  reward  of  three  thousand  dollars  on  the  head  of 
Trinidad  Rivera,  and  to  deposit  this  sum  in  a  mercantile  house 
as  a  proof  of  his  sincerity,  because  similar  promises  had  been 
broken  more  than  once  in  different  parts  of  the  Republic,  or 


90  LEGISLATION. 

only  part  of  the  price  paid.  A  few  days  after  the  proclamation 
there  appeared  before  the  Governor  a  captain  of  cavalry  of  the 
name  of  Chacon  asking  for  permission  to  go  on  a  hunt  for 
Rivera,  which  was  granted  him.  Instead  of  taking  his  soldiers 
with  him  in  arms  and  uniform,  he  secretly  selected  but  four 
trustworthy  men,  and  disguised  as  ordinary  ranchmen  in  dirty 
leather  suits,  but  acting  under  a  well-formed  plan  of  campaign, 
the  five  repaired  to  the  scene  of  Rivera's  exploits  and  suc- 
ceeded, without  exciting  suspicion,  to  surprise  and  kill  him 
one  night  in  an  isolated  ranch,  whither  he  had  gone  to  sleep. 
Exactly  one  week  after  his  departure  Captain  Chacon  returned 
to  the  city  with  the  robber  chiefs  head  in  a  bag  hanging  from 
the  pommel  of  his  saddle,  and  bringing  his  best  horse  with  him 
too.  He  was  highly  complimented  by  the  Governor,  and 
received  his  reward  of  three  thousand  dollars,  besides  the  horse 
and  arms  of  the  dead  robber.  Captain  Chacon  was  wise  enough 
to  disappear  at  once,  and  betook  himself  to  a  remote  part  of 
the  country  for  a  number  of  years,  otherwise  he  would 
hardly  have  escaped  the  avenger's  dagger.  As  for  the  robber's 
head,  it  was  stuck  on  a  pole  for  three  days  over  a  public 
bridge,  but  taken  down  every  night  to  prevent  its  capture 
by  the  friends  of  the  dead  man,  who  were  very  numerous  and 
enterprising.  The  death  of  Rivera  resulted  in  the  breaking  up 
of  his  band. 


Our  flag,  so  venerable  and  beautiful,  with  its  seven  narrow  red 
stripes  on  white  ground  and  the  star-spangled  blue  field,  should 
not  be  continually  altered  by  the  addition  of  new  stars  ;  there 
are  too  many  already, — stars  and  States  ;  the  original  thirteen 
stars  should  be  restored  and  none  added,  which  would  leave  our 
beloved  banner  immutable,  as  it  ought  to  be.  Thirteen  has 
proved  a  lucky  number  in  the  case  of  the  United  States. 
Neither  is  it  proper  to  display  any  foreign  flags  whatever  of 
the  same  size  as  the  American  flag  by  the  side  of  the  latter 
in  any  public  procession  or  on  any  building.  The  size  of  a 
foreign  flag,  diplomatic  emblems  excepted,  should  be  limited 
by  statute  to  say  one  yard  in  length  by  two  feet  in  width,  just 
sufficient  to  indicate  the  original  nationality  of  the  particular 


LEGISLATION.  91 

section  of  a  public  display,  if  it  chooses.  We  have  often  seen 
with  disgust  immense  banners  of  shining  silk  and  gold, 
beautiful  as  they  may  be,  carried  by  the  side  of  our  flag,  and 
considered  it,  if  not  an  insult,  at  least  a  great  want  of  tact  on 
the  part  of  the  bearers. 

There  should  also  be  a  law  forbidding  the  hoisting  of  the 
nation's  sacred  emblem  on  straight,  upright  staffs  on  any  other 
but  public  buildings ;  private  staffs  should  be  inclined  at  an 
angle  of  forty- five  degrees  in  contradistinction.  Nor  is  it  proper 
that  the  flag  should  be  prostituted  on  every  possible  occasion 
for  advertising  and  business  purposes.  This  is  not  the  way  to 
surround  it  with  that  respect  and  admiration  becoming  to  true 
patriotism. 

The  addition  of  a  new  star  to  our  flag  is  indicative  of  the 
admission  of  a  new  State  into  the  old  Union.  It  is  a  poor 
policy,  generally  adopted  for  party  purposes  only,  to  admit 
Territories  as  States  before  they  have  at  least  one  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  before  they  have  been  properly 
educated  politically  and  economically.  The  indecent  hurry  to 
be  admitted  as  a  State  is  the  work  of  scheming  and  ambitious 
politicians.  A  Territory  is  much  better  off  under  the  immediate 
supervision  and  paternal  care  of  the  Federal  Government  than 
under  a  so-called  State  organization,  a  mock  Legislature,  Senate 
and  other  parasitical  incumbrances,  leaving  alone  the  increased 
expenses  for  the  luxury  desired.  Look  at  the  best-governed 
city  in  the  whole  United  States,  the  City  of  Washington,  depend- 
ing entirely  on  Congress  and  having  no  common  council,  no 
mayor  and  no  superfluous  offices.  We  will  speak  of  Washing- 
ton further  on  to  prove  it. 

The  Governor  of  a  Territory  is  appointed  by  the  President, 
and  he  is  assisted  by  a  Secretary.  The  Legislature  of  a  Terri- 
tory consists  of  a  Council  of  not  more  than  twelve  and  a  House 
of  not  more  than  twenty-four  members,  chosen  for  two  years, 
and  all  laws  must  be  submitted  to  Congress  for  approval  or 
rejection.  The  members  of  the  territorial  Legislature  receive 
a  small  compensation,  and  the  whole  fiscal  system  is  on  a 
strictly  economical  plan,  which  is  a  decided  advantage  com- 
pared with  the  costly  machinery  of  an  admitted  State.  Every 
Territory  can  send  a  delegate  to  Congress,  and  that  is  quite 


92  LEGISLATION. 

enough  for  all  intents  and  purposes.  More  than  one  delegate 
from  a  Territory  are  generally  apt  to  differ,  dissent  and  create 
more  or  less  trouble. 


The  abnormal  and  enormous  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
one  millions  of  dollars  will  be  needed  for  the  next  fiscal  year 
to  pay  the  pensioners  of  the  Government,  a  larger  amount 
than  is  expended  on  the  immense  standing  armies  of  Germany 
or  France.  It  is  very  creditable  for  our  Government  to  have 
been  paying  pensions  to  the  wounded  and  disabled  defenders  of 
the  Union  after  the  close  of  the  great  Rebellion,  and  they  cer- 
tainly were  fully  entitled  to  this  liberal  support ;  but  gross  abuses 
have  been  creeping  into  the  pension  system  from  the  very 
beginning ;  fraudulent  claims  have  been  admitted  by  the  thou- 
sands ;  persons  but  slightly  injured,  suffering  from  trivial 
results  of  sickness,  and  others  not  in  need  at  all,  are  still  on 
the  pension  list,  and,  like  everything  else,  where  largq  sums 
are  handled,  the  Pension  Department  has  been  run  in  the 
interest  of  the  great  parties.  We  may  safely  say  that  thirty 
years  after  the  war  there  should  now  be  but  one-fourth  of  the 
original  number  entitled  to  draw  Government  pensions.  The 
laws  with  respect  to  recipients  have  been  entirely  too  liberal, 
and  were  made  still  more  elastic  in  the  course  of  time  to  such 
a  degree,  that  in  1867  there  were  153,184  pensioners  of  both 
sexes  receiving  regular  stipends  from  the  pension  bureau,  and 
in  1879  the  number  had  risen  to  242,755.  Within  five  years 
after  the  close  of  the  war  the  list  of  nearly  all  those  entitled  to 
any  pensions  could  have  been  firmly  established  and  the  rolls 
closed,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  isolated  cases.  But  instead 
of  this  timely  and  reasonable  adjustment  candidates  for  pen- 
sions were  literally  hunted  up,  lassoed  and  coerced  into  making 
claims  on  the  slightest  pretexts,  to  the  great  benefit  of  pension 
agents,  attorneys  and  other  birds  of  prey.  A  hue  and  cry  is 
raised  whenever  the  authorities  attempt  to  overhaul  the  Pen- 
sion Department  with  a  view  of  reducing  this  tremendous  drain 
on  the  national  treasury  ;  yet  it  would  be  just  about  time  for 
Congress  to  pass  a  law  to  that  effect,  irrespective  of  votes  won 
or  lost  for  the  next  election. 


LEGISLATION.  93 

In  connection  with  the  pension  business  we  may  here  men- 
tion that  every  community,  city,  or  State,  ought  to  provide 
suitable  institutions  at  the  public  expense  to  afford  a  con- 
venient and  decent  place  of  refuge  for  the  aged,  disabled  and 
crippled,  besides  the  ordinary  hospitals.  Whilst  the  inmates 
of  such  institutions  must  necessarily  be  subject  to  a  certain 
discipline,  order,  good  behavior  and  cleanliness,  they  must  not 
be  treated  with  any  unnecessary  severity,  nor  be  made  to 
understand  continually  that  they  are  the  object  of  public 
benevolence.  These  unfortunate  people  are,  by  common  law, 
as  much  entitled  to  comfortable  quarters,  food,  clothing,  etc.,  as 
the  merchant  prince  and  bankers'  sons  ;  if  they  were  criminals, 
they  would  be  in  prison  and  not  inmates  of  a  charitable 
retreat. 


When  a  franchise  is  granted  by  the  State  or  any  munici- 
pality to  a  company,  corporation,  or  syndicate  of  men,  author- 
izing them  to  build  street  or  high  railroads,  water-works, 
telegraphs,  steamer  lines  and  other  appliances  for  the  accom- 
modation and  benefit  of  the  people,  as  well  as  for  their  own 
especial  profit,  our  legislators  are  not  sufficiently  careful  to 
provide  for  the  security  and  comfort  of  the  passengers.  Trains, 
steamers,  street  cars,  theaters,  etc.,  are  crammed  full  to  excess 
almost  every  day,  and  the  American  public,,  the  most  patient, 
considerate  and  easily  duped  of  all,  is  frequently  treated  in  the 
most  shameful  manner  without  ever  raising  a  complaining 
voice.  In  other  countries  the  public  is  not  so  easily  imposed 
upon,  and,  knowing  their  rights,  will  insist  on  their  exercise. 
Thus,  for  instance,  there  was  dissatisfaction  in  Rio  Janeiro 
some  ten  or  twelve  years  ago  in  consequence  of  the  violation 
of  some  privilege  the  public  had  on  the  street  cars,  or,  as  they 
are  called  there,  "tramways."  The  company  not  giving 
redress  promptly,  over  sixty  cars  were  destroyed  and  burned  on 
the  streets  and  no  indemnity  paid  by  the  city,  the  company 
having  been  at  fault.  Every  possible  safeguard  should  be 
exacted  from  the  corporations  to  bind  them  to  the  strict 
execution  of  the  clauses  of  the  franchise,  and  these  clauses 
should  be  in  favor  of  the  public  by  all  means,  allowing  the 


\ 


94  LEGISLATION 

company  all  that  is  fair  and  equitable,  be  their  profits  ever  so 
large.  Street  and  high  railroads  should  not  be  permitted  to 
place  more  than  so  many  persons  in  each  car ;  the  seats  should 
be  divided  off  to  prevent  crowding  each  other,  and  but  a 
limited  number  allowed  to  stand  up.  If  the  company  does 
not  find  it  payable,  let  them  ask  no  franchise  or  throw  up 
their  charter.  There  is  more  traffic  in  London  and  Paris  in 
one  month  than  there  is  in  any  of  our  larger  cities  in  a  year, 
and  yet  the  system  of  limited  seating  and  standing  room  in 
the  cars  works  to  perfection  there. 

In  Mexico  there  is  a  magistrate  in  every  public  place  of 
amusement,  such  as  theaters,  circuses  and  bull-fights,  occu- 
pying a  prominent  box  with  a  couple  of  police  officials.  This 
magistrate  is  there  for  the  exclusive  purpose  of  watching  over 
good  order,  but  especially  for  that  of  seeing  that  the  performers 
fulfill  their  promises  to  and  engagements  with  the  public,  who 
pa}^  their  money  and  expect  its  equivalent  as  a  matter  of 
course.  These  things  may  appear  to  us  primitive  and  out  of 
date,  but  they  are  quite  right  at  the  bottom,  if  we  look  at  them 
in  the  proper  light. 

Our  common  councils,  or  board  of  aldermen,  will  grant  fran- 
chises and  charters  to  any  company,  for  or  without  any  open 
or  private  "considerations,"  but  they  always  fail  to  insert  and 
make  the  companies  agree  to  protective  and  restrictive  clauses 
on  behalf  of  the  public,  who  are  expected  to  pay  after  all.  But 

' '  the  people  be  d /  ' '  Hinc  illae  lacrimae  !  (There  is  where 

the  shoe  pinches !) 


One  of  the  most  disgusting  and  brutal  habits  that  disgraces 
this  country  is  prize-fighting.  This  we  have  inherited  from 
our  British  cousins,  who  at  no  very  remote  time  were  passion- 
ately fond  of  such  exhibitions.  Prize-fighting  has  been  pro- 
hibited by  law  in  most  of  the  States,  but  the  statute  is 
circumvened  more  frequently  than  obeyed.  We  must  confess 
that  a  duel  with  swords,  daggers  or  pistols,  as  we  have  wit- 
nessed them  among  the  people  in  Mexico  on  some  occasions, 
appear  far  less  brutal  than  the  pommeling  each  others  heads, 
faces,  arms  and  breasts  practiced  by  the  so-called  light,  heavy 


LEGISLATION.  95 

and  feather  weight  champions,  posing  as  heroes  before  a  vulgar 
but  highly  profitable  audience.  If  a  couple  of  human  brutes 
are  ready  and  willing  to  fight  together  according  to  the  ' '  rules 
of  the  Marquis  of  Queensberry , ' '  who  could  have  done  some- 
thing more  creditable  to  immortalize  his  name,  let  them  do  so 
in  private  in  the  presence  of  their  friends  and  admirers  ;  but 
in  no  case  and  under  no  circumstances  should  any  fight  be 
permitted  in  public,  nor  such  an  event  be  published  by  adver- 
tisement, handbills,  or  in  any  other  manner.  The  principals 
should  be  fined  heavily  or  imprisoned,  and  the  seconds  and 
other  accessories  too. 


A  great  many  persons,  not  excepting  the  feminine  gender, 
carry  concealed  weapons,  which  is  prohibited  by  law.  Permits 
to  carry  a  pistol  are,  however,  frequently  granted  to  indi- 
viduals under  some  pretext  or  other  ;  but  the  authorities 
mostly  neglect  to  surround  the  issuing  of  such  permits 
with  the  proper  guarantees.  The  name,  age,  profession, 
State  and  residence  of  the  carrier  of  arms  are  not  suffi- 
cient ;  he  should  also  furnish  a  satisfactory  surety,  that 
no  unlawful  abuse  will  be  made  of  his  privilege  to  go 
armed.  Persons  arrested  and  convicted  for  carrying  con- 
cealed weapons  should  be  fined  at  least  one  hundred  dollars, 
or  imprisoned  for  three  months,  and  the  weapons  confiscated 
and  destroyed.  Either  this,  or  let  everbody  go  armed  to 
make  things  even.  In  the  same  manner  in  which  powder 
and  other  explosives  should  only  be  handled  and  sold  by  the 
Government  upon  proper  guarantee,  the  Government  alone 
should  control  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  arms  of  all  kinds 
to  prevent  their  promiscuous  carrying  and  pernicious  use. 
We  have  constables,  policemen,  detectives,  sheriffs,  the 
militia  and  last,  but  not  least,  the  United  States  army  ;  if 
these  various  forces  are  not  sufficient  for  all  purposes  of 
individual  and  collective  protection,  then  their  numbers  must 
be  increased  until  they  are  sufficient,  without  regard  to 
expense.  The  security  of  persons  and  property  in  the  smallest 
village  and  the  most  populous  city  means  general  prosperity, 
and  cannot  be  purchased  too  high. 


96  LEGISLATION. 

In  some  European  countries  there  are  corps  of  national 
police  called  "  gendarmes  "  (men-at-arms)  and  "carabinieri," 
mounted  and  on  foot,  who  are  stationed  by  small  brigades 
at  the  head-town  of  a  district,  but  whose  duty  it  is  to  be 
continually  on  the  road,  traveling  leisurely  about  the  coun- 
try, overhauling  suspicious  characters,  looking  after  poachers, 
tramps,  beggars  and  vagrants,  who,  if  not  precisely  arrested, 
are  warned  and  admonished.  They  arrest  and  bring  in 
prisoners  from  long  distances,  and  execute  the  orders  of  the 
higher  police  authorities.  The  gendarmes  and  "  carabinieri  " 
generally  travel  by  twos,  and  are  armed  with  saber,  rifle  and 
pistol.  None  but  picked  and  honorable  men  are  selected  foi 
this  national  police  force,  which  may  be  considered  incorrupt 
ible,  and  is  a  perpetual  source  of  terror  to  the  transgressors  ot 
the  law  ;  their  aspect  alone  is  apt  to  inspire  fear  and  trembling. 
In  case  of  riots  or  war  the  ' '  gendarmes  ' '  can  be  concentrated 
rapidly  and  form  a  very  respectable  public  force.  Something 
of  this  kind  is  very  much  needed  in  this  vast  country,  where 
vigilance  is  so  difficult. 

Our  municipal  policemen  are  not  uniformed  properly,  like 
the  metropolitan  police  of  London,  Paris  and  other  capitals. 
The  English  policeman  has  a  short  tunic,  not  reaching  below 
the  hanging  hands,  tightly  buttoned  to  the  chin,  and  wears  a 
helmet,  about  which  a  great  deal  has  been  said  disparagingly, 
but  which  does  not  look  bad  at  all  and  is  certainly  very  prac- 
tical. These  men  are  also  selected  for  physical  and  moral  supe- 
perior  qualities,  and  are  universally  serious,  attentive  to  their 
duty,  and,  what  is  a  decided  advantage  over  our  own  policemen, 
very  polite  and  ever  ready  to  give  aid  and  information  to 
those  that  ask  for  it. 

Instead  of  pistol  and  club,  our  policemen  should  be  provided 
with  a  stout  three-foot  rattan  for  unruly  boys  and  boisterous 
drunkards,  as  well  as  to  beckon  to  and  stop  vehicles,  with  a 
short  blunt  saber  in  leather  scabbard  for  the  pugnacious,  and 
a  long-barreled  revolver  for  the  fleeing  criminals.  This  arma- 
ment would  inspire  the  public  with  a  great  deal  more  respect 
than  the  present  outfit.  The  English  policeman  will  stand 
in  the  center  of  a  street  filled  with  a  jam  of  hundreds  of  vehi- 
cles, entirely  unarmed,  and,  by  simply  raising  his  rattan, 


LEGISLATION.  97 

direct  their  movements  ;  and  none  dare  to  disobey,  nor  even  to 
murmur ;  in  the  English  courts  there  is  no  trifling,  no  hum- 
buggery,  but  stern,  implacable  justice. 


The  municipal  laws  should  also  provide  for  the  proper  and 
substantial  building  of  streets,  a  matter  of  such  vital  impor- 
tance to  everybody  without  exception.  It  is  against  the  dic- 
tates of  common  sense  and  the  principles  of  public  economy 
to  allow  defective  streets  to  be  made.  London,  Paris,  Vienna 
and  other  smaller  cities  in  Kurope  have  clean,  even  and  dura- 
ble streets,  carefully  supervised  by  the  authorities  and  watched 
by  the  police.  There  is  a  heavy  fine  for  throwing  even  a 
piece  of  paper  on  the  sidewalks.  The  original  cost  of  a  street 
is,  of  course,  higher  when  built  in  a  proper  manner  than  a 
flimsy,  superficial  foundation  and  surface  ;  but  the  outlay  for 
a  finely  built  street  will  prove  a  great  economy  after  all, 
because  it  is  more  solid,  durable,  satisfactory  and  requires 
few  if  any  repairs.  In  justice  to  our  country  we  must  say 
that  there  are  some  fine  streets  in  some  of  our  cities,  the 
national  capital  standing  at  the  head  of  all  with  her  thirty 
odd  miles  of  beautiful,  smooth  asphaltum  and  cement  streets, 
free  from  cobbles,  stones,  dirt  or  holes.  But  the  bed  founda- 
tions of  the  streets  in  Washington  are  deeply  and  carefully 
laid,  and  no  work  is  accepted  unless  correct  and  proper.  The 
utter  absence  of  supervisors,  aldermen  and  councilmen  accounts 
for  this  excellence,  and  no  doubt  about  it. 

A  complete  state  of  lawlessness  and  anarchy  seems  to  pre- 
vail in  our  building  ideas.  There  are  deplorable  defects  in  the 
laws  relating  to  this  very  important  branch  of  the  public 
welfare.  One  man  builds  a  decent  dwelling  or  business  house, 
of  symmetrical  proportions  and  moderate  height ;  another  man 
of  less  taste  and  brains,  but  with  more  shekels,  erects  a  struc- 
ture by  the  side  of  the  former,  which,  owing  to  the  immense 
and  absurd  disproportion  of  the  base  with  the  height,  ceases 
to  be  entitled  to  the  appellation  of  "house,"  but  takes  that  of 
* '  tower. ' '  It  has  become  a  despicable  habit  in  recent  years,  no 
less  than  an  insolent  encroachment  on  the  time-honored  rights 
and  privileges  of  their  unfortunate  neighbors,  with  our  wealthy 


98  LEGISLATION. 

classes  to  erect  buildings  on  a  small  area,  rearing  from  five  to 
fifteen  stories  into  the  sky,  in  order  to  derive  the  highest  pos- 
sible rental  from  the  smallest  possible  ground  lot.  Refrain- 
ing for  the  time  being  from  any  investigation  into  the  manner 
of  constructing  these  absurd  towers  and  their  danger  of  col- 
lapsing and  tumbling  down,  it  must  be  taken  into  due  consid- 
eration that  these  grotesque  and  outrageous  buildings  serve 
to  enrich  their  owners  and  at  the  same  time  to  perpetually 
annoy  the  near  and  far  neighbors  as  well  as  the  pedestrians 
on  the  streets,  because  they  deprive  them  of  light  and  sun- 
shine, not  to  mention  the  dangers  of  fire  and  those  of  the 
elevators  to  feed  it.  Churches,  temples  and  public  buildings 
excepted,  no  structure  for  private  or  industrial  or  manufactur- 
ing purposes  ought  to  be  permitted  to  be  higher  than  fifty  feet 
on  the  broadest  streets  and  thirty  on  the  most  narrow  thor- 
oughfares. If  any  one  wants  more  ground  space,  let  him  go 
outside  of  the  city  limits,  if  he  cannot  afford  to  purchase  the 
necessary  ground  within  them.  We  have  stood  on  Broadway, 
Wall,  Nassau  and  other  streets  of  lower  New  York  City,  and 
have  looked  up  to  these  absurd,  unsightly  towers  with  a  feel- 
ing of  pity  for  crazy  humanity  that  is  guilty  of  erecting  and 
of  tolerating  such  incomprehensible  public  nuisances ;  in  front 
of  one  of  them  we  could  not  help  bursting  out  with  shouts  of 
laughter,  that  seemed  to  surprise  the  bystanders,  who  did  not 
know  the  cause. 

When  we  we  were  in  London  in  1891,  we  were  shown  a 
fine,  beautifully  finished  brick  building  occupying  an  entire 
vast  block  and  but  five  or  six  stories  high.  Our  guide 
informed  us  that  some  years  ago  a  syndicate  of  capitalists 
("representative  men  "  as  we  are  pleased  to  call  them  in  this 
country)  quietly  went  to  work  purchasing  the  residence  build- 
ings standing  on  that  block,  and  did  it  in  such  a  slow  and  cau- 
tious way,  that  only  a  few  of  the  original  owners  got  wind  of  the 
scheme  and  were  enabled  to  obtain  a  higher  price  for  their 
property  than  the  others.  The  plan  of  the .  syndicate  was  to 
erect  a  mammoth  structure  of  fifteen  stories  and  make  it  a 
hotel,  theater,  stores  and  dwellings  of  all  sizes  and  prices,  in 
the  style  of  their  American  cousins  ;  but  the  syndicate  reck- 
oned without  their  host.  Protests  came  from  all  sides 


LEGISLATION.  99 

comprising  all  the  surrounding  blocks,  which  for  centuries  had 
enjoyed  such  light  and  sunshine  as  are  afforded  the  inhabi- 
tants of  London  ;  the  matter  was  brought  before  the  courts, 
decided  and  appealed  again  and  again,  an  injunction  granted 
when  five  or  six  stories  were  up,  and  finally  wound  up  in 
Parliament.  This  supreme  body  appointed  a  commission  from 
its  own  bosom,  with  instructions  to  investigate  and  power  to 
act.  After  but  two  days  of  its  labors  the  commission  said : 
"That  will  do  ;  put  on  your  roof."  And  thus  London,  with 
her  reasonable,  uniform  style  of  architecture,  has  been  spared 
the  disgrace  of  a  Babylonian  tower,  to  be  a  nuisance  and  an 
eyesore  to  every  sensible  inhabitant  of  that  district,  many  of 
the  families  having  occupied  their  own  houses  there  for  cen- 
turies, or  at  least  a  great  number  of  years,  thus  giving  them 
priority  rights  to  light,  air  and  sunshine,  the  precious  gifts  of 
the  Lord. 


Again,  we  call  special  and  particular  attention  to  the  all- 
important  subject  of  forestry  and  game,  affecting  not  alone  the 
present  generation,  but  our  unfortunate  descendants,  who  will 
certainly  be  doomed  to  return  to  the  stone  period  for  want  of 
wood  and  lumber,  unless  immediate  and  vigorous  measures 
are  taken  to  stop  the  destruction  of  our  scanty  forests  and  even 
of  single  trees.  "AprZs  nous  le  deluge"  (after  us  the  flood 
may  come)  is  the  motto  of  the  selfish,  not  to  say  fiendish,  lum- 
ber cutters  and  dealers.  What  care  they  for  posterity  ?  Laws 
have  been  passed  on  this  very  subject,  but  they  are  not 
enforced,  and  a  conviction  and  punishment  of  offenders  are  of 
rare  occurrence,  such  are  the  sinuosities  and  the  elasticity  of 
the  courts  at  present.  Neither  are  the  penalties  severe  enough, 
nor  is  the  vigilance  efficacious.  Here  there  would  be  a  good 
employ  for  a  national  corps  of  mounted,  flying  police  or  "gen- 
darmes." The  demand  is  repeatedly  made  by  our  sensible 
people  and  some  legislation  enacted,  but  the  whole  thing  is 
not  taken  as  serious  by  the  authorities.  The  following  is  an 
excellent  article  we  saw  in  a  recent  paper  and  beg  to  copy  : 

"  It  is  full  time  that  the  United  States  Government  adopted 
a  rational  and  comprehensive  forestry  system.  The  policy  of 


100  LEGISLATION. 

reserving  forest  lands  from  settlement  and  private  ownership 
has  at  last  secured  a  firm  place  in  the  laws.  The  last  adminis- 
tration reserved  over  thirteen  million  acres.  The  present  one 
has  already  added  four  and  one-half  million  acres  to  this  area. 
This  is  far  from  being  the  extent  of  timber  land  that  should  be 
put  under  Government  protection ;  but  it  may  be  considered 
settled  that  these  reservations  will  be  extended  within  a  few 
years  to  include  most  of  the  remains  of  our  forests.  But  it  is 
not  enough  that  forest  reservations  should  be  created ;  they 
must  be  rationally  used,  if  the  country  is  to  get  the  benefit 
from  them.  A  forest  can,  to  be  sure,  serve  a  very  useful  pur- 
pose by  being  left  alone,  for  it  preserves  the  watercourses  and 
feeds  the  streams  that  irrigate  the  farms  and  create  the  rivers. 
The  forests,  besides  this,  can  be  made  to  furnish  a  perpetual 
supply  of  timber.  The  trees  are  a  crop  that  should  be  harvested 
when  ripe,  and  when  cleared  away  should  be  renewed  like  any 
other  crop.  The  rational  system  of  forestry  does  not  stop  with 
making  reservations  ;  it  provides  for  the  cutting  of  mature 
timber,  the  planting  of  new  and  desirable  growths,  the  cutting 
out  of  inferior  plants,  and  the  protection  of  standing  trees 
from  fire  and  depredations.  There  is  now  a  bill  before  Con- 
gress to  establish  a  system  of  forest  administration  that  will 
accomplish  these  objects  by  utilizing  a  portion  of  the  army  to 
protect  the  forests,  and  by  giving  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
authority  to  sell  timber  whose  cutting  will  not  injure  the  forest, 
and  to  take  such  measures  as  will  provide  for  the  perpetual 
renewal  of  the  forest.  The  importance  of  our  rapidly  vanish- 
ing timber  supply  is  at  last  coming  to  be  understood  by  the 
people,  and  Congress  can  be  sure  of  popular  approval  in 
adopting  such  measures." 

But  the  great  trouble  is  that  Congress  is  in  the  habit  of 
wasting  its  precious  time  on  measures  of  little  importance  to 
the  general  welfare  of  the  people,  and  when  at  last  something 
important,  useful  and  of  public  necessity  happens  to  penetrate 
the  almost  impossible  barrier  of  red  tape  and  formality  surround- 
ing that  august  and  stupendous  body,  it  takes  half  a  century 
to  get  it  passed  and  adopted  ;  and  even  then  the  subterfuge  of 
' '  unconstitutionality  ' '  is  left  open  for  the  enemies  of  the  public 
good. 


LEGISLATION.  101 

After  being  admitted  into  the  country,  an  immigrant  should 
be  at  least  thirty  years  old  and  have  resided  ten  consecutive 
years  in  it  before  he  can  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
and  be  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  such,  inclu- 
ding those  of  an  elector  and  candidate  for  office.  In  ten  years 
he  can  learn  the  language  properly,  acclimatize  himself,  study 
our  laws  and  institutions,  and  be  politically  educated.  The 
admission  to  citizenship  should  be  surrounded  with  proper 
solemnity  in  the  United  States  courts  exclusively,  and  no 
other  court  have  the  power  to  create  citizens.  Absolute 
proofs  of  the  prescribed  residence,  identity  and  other  qualifica- 
tions should  be  furnished,  and  not  be  accredited  by  dim  recol- 
lections, hearsay  and  meaningless  oaths  and  affidavits.  A 
corresponding  fee  of  say  twenty  dollars  should  accompany 
the  application  upon  being  admitted,  the  first  application  to  be 
made  at  least  three  years  in  advance  and  declared  void  four 
years  after  filing,  if  the  candidate  does  not  present  himself. 
Such  measures  would  settle  all  controversies  on  this  important 
subject  forever  and  silence  the  growing  jealousy  of  the  native- 
born  element.  If  the  naturalized  citizens  have  thus  far  taken 
such  a  prominent  and  active  part  in  the  political  affairs  of  the 
country,  it  is  not  alone  owing  to  the  indifference  displayed  by 
part  of  the  born  Americans,  but  principally  to  the  catering  of 
the  different  parties,  who  are  only  too  anxious  to  procure  the 
foreign  votes,  and,  to  obtain  that  end,  are  in  the  habit  of 
creating  citizens  by  the  wholesale  at  election  time.  Native- 
born  electors,  too,  should  be  at  least  twenty-five  years  old 
before  being  allowed  to  vote. 


The  Postal  Department  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America  is  one  of  the  public  institutions  we  may  justly  be 
proud  of.  Every  facility  is  afforded  for  the  prompt,  safe  and 
cheap  transportation  and  delivery  of  letters,  newspapers  and 
parcels.  The  postage,  in  fact,  is  too  low.  It  is  ridiculous  to 
expect  a  one-ounce  letter  to  be  carried  for  you  from  one 
extremity  of  this  vast  region  to  the  other,  a  distance  of  three 
thousand  miles,  for  two  cents.  The  former  rate  of  three  cents 
per  half  ounce  should  have  been  maintained  for  letters  of  one 


102  LEGISLATION. 

ounce,  and  the  postage  on  newspapers  doubled.  If  people 
cannot  afford  to  pay  such  rates,  let  them  write  less.  Suppose 
the  mail  service  does  leave  a  handsome  surplus  to  the 
Treasury,  all  the  better ;  it  is  a  tax  easily  borne  and  hardly  felt 
by  any  one  but  those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  flooding  the 
country  with  stupid  circulars. 

The  postal  authorities  are  supposed  to  ignore  the  contents  of 
closed  letters.  The  secrecy  of  the  mail  should  be  inviolable, 
and  only  in  cases  of  crimes  actually  proven,  when  committed, 
should  letters  addressed  to  the  perpetrators  or  participants  of 
crimes  be  seized  and  opened  by  order  of  a  United  States  court 
to  enlighten  justice.  The  postal  officials  have  no  right  to  pre- 
sume or  suspect  what  might  be  the  contents  of  closed  letters, 
as  long  as  they  are  decently  addressed  and  the  corresponding 
stamps  affixed  to  them.  A  ruling  has  been  made,  amongst 
other  singular  measures  in  the  mail  department,  and  made  a 
law  by  Congress,  that  no  lottery  tickets  or  lists  shall  be  trans- 
ported by  the  Government  mails  ;  even  more,  letters  addressed 
to  persons  known  to  deal  in  tickets  and  connected  in  any  way 
with  lottery  schemes  are  rejected  and  not  received.  This  is 
entirely  wrong,  as  long  as  the  address  of  such  letters  does  not 
clearly  show  what  the  contents  may  be,  or  perhaps  contain  a 
printed  advertisement  on  the  envelope  concerning  some  lottery. 
The  proper  method  would  have  been  to  prohibit  all  spurious 
and  clandestine  lotteries  and  the  printing  and  sale  of  their 
tickets  by  a  heavy  penalty. 

This  leads  us  to  severely  criticise  the  law  prohibiting  all 
lotteries.  It  is  an  evil,  if  evil  it  may  be  called  at  all,  that 
no  law  can  prevent,  and,  like  many  other  evils  of  society,  it 
ought  to  be  regulated  and  guided  to  its  proper  channels  under 
the  paternal  control  of  the  authorities.  People  will  play  in 
the  lottery  by  all  means,  and  as  long  as  this  propensity  is  not 
carried  to  excess,  as  in  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  where  a  Govern- 
ment drawing  takes  place  every  day  and  induces  and  seduces 
the  poor  to  spend  every  cent  on  the  chances,  there  is  absolutely 
no  harm  in  it.  It  is  the  only  hope  and  chance  many  people 
have  ever  to  acquire  a  certain  amount  of  money  to  help  them 
out  of  trouble  and  to  start  some  business.  In  a  fairly  and 
squarely  conducted  lottery  belonging  to  or  under  the  closest 
surveillance  of  the  Government,  such  chances  are  open  to 


LEGISLATION.  103 

everybody, — poor  and  rich.  All  other  enterprises  of  the  kind 
should  be  strictly  forbidden  by  law,  but  give  the  people  a  show 
at  least.  Wiseacres  and  envious  parties  allege  that  lotteries 
are  demoralizing,  absorb  the  hard-earned  savings  of  the 
laboring  classes,  and  lead  to  gambling.  They  are  utterly 
mistaken,  for  the  already  stated  and  now  repeated  simple 
reason  that  a  person  who  invests  his  quarter,  half  or  whole 
dollar  in  a  ticket  puts  it  away,  and  hope  is  in  his  breast  until 
the  day  of  drawing.  When,  to  his  not  at  all  unexpected  and 
probable  disappointment,  he  finds  that  he  has  come  out  empty- 
handed,  he  purchases  a  new  ticket  in  the  next  drawing,  and 
hopes  again.  There  is  an  immense  difference  between  this 
innocent  chronic  hope  and  the  periodical  investment  of  a  small 
amount  with  good  chances,  and  the  all-absorbing,  destructive, 
insatiable  passion  for  the  gambling  table,  to  which  there  is  no 
limit  and  which  generally  ends  in  awful  disaster  to  the 
infatuated  victims  of  the  "royal  Bengal  tiger,"  more  dangerous 
and  deadly  than  the  beautiful  king  of  the  jungle. 

Almost  every  government  owns  and  controls  a  State  lottery, 
excluding  in  some  cases  the  tickets  of  other  countries;  and  the 
benefit  derived  from  the  monthly  and  yearly  drawings  furnish 
a  fine  and  steady  income  for  the  public  fisc.  We  ought  to  have 
a  national  lottery  by  all  means,  and  endeavor  to  retain  in  our 
own  country  the  really  immense  sums  in  cash  now  migrating 
to  Mexico,  Honduras  and  other  foreign  countries ;  but  our  peo- 
ple are  blind  and  headstrong  and  the  authorities  still  more  so. 


"  Beer,  Wines  and  Liquors'''  These  four  significant  words 
appear  to  the  eye  of  our  people  on  every  side,  except  in  the 
prohibition  States,  where  they  rest  concealed  in  the  bosom  of 
the  initiated.  And  here  again  we  strike  conflicting  laws, 
fierce  controversies  and  flagrant,  arbitrary  acts  of  injustice  and 
intolerance,  of  which  we  have  every  reason  to  be  ashamed  as 
a  nation.  The  Anglo-Saxon  races  have  been  heavy  drinkers 
before  the  L,ord  for  ages  immemorial ;  yet  look  at  them  and 
admire  their  physical  qualities  !  Beer,  ale  and  gin  seem  to 
have  had  no  effect  to  deteriorate  the  British  and  Irish  in  a 
physical  sense  ;  everybody  must  admit  that  these  people  are  and 
ever  will  be  splendid  specimens  of  humanity.  We  by  no  means 


104  LEGISLATION. 

intend  to  write  an  apology  of  drink,  much  less  strong  drink ; 
but  we  want  to  treat  the  subject  with  fairness  and  justice,  not 
with  the  accustomed  one-sided  and  narrow-minded  spirit. 
People  will  drink,  smoke  and  gamble  in  defiance  of  all  the 
statutes  made  to  prevent  these  habits,  and  the  wisest  thing  is 
to  properly  regulate  the  former  two.  Supposing,  for  instance, 
that  all  the  wine,  beer  and  liquor  at  present  existing  were  to 
be  destroyed  and  the  replacing  thereof  forbidden :  people 
would  still  find  ways  and  means  to  get  intoxicated.  All  they 
would  have  to  do  is  to  take  the  milk  of  the  cocoanut  and 
expose  it  to  the  rays  of  the  sun  for  a  couple  of  hours,  or  a  pint 
of  water  and  honey  with  a  few  drops  of  yeast,  to  obtain  the 
"creature."  There  would  be  any  amount  of  clandestine 
family  distilleries,  home-made  sour  mash,  bitter  beer,  etc.,  etc., 
far  more  powerful  than  the  stuff  now  sold  to  the  people  by  the 
public  dispensaries.  The  writer  has  taken  so-called  home- 
made beer  in  a  family  in  England,  one  pint  of  which  was  all 
he  could  get  away  with,  and  that  beverage  had  been  brewed 
by  Lady  Maud  with  her  own  hands. 

It  must  be  considered  that  the  Federal  Government  derives 
enormous  revenues  from  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  wine, 
beer  and  liquor,  probably  over  a  hundred  millions  a  year,  and 
this  does  not  include  the  import  duties  on  foreign  liquids, 
nor  the  State  and  municipal  taxes.  It  is  a  revenue  not 
severely  felt  by  our  people  either,  since  it  is  paid  finally  by  the 
consumer  of  the  bottle  and  single  glass,  the  importers,  distillers 
and  liquor-dealers  being  thus  fully  reimbursed  for  the  taxes 
advanced  by  them.  It  is  exactly  the  same  with  tobacco. 
Adhering  to  our  maxim,  that  the  Federal  Government  should 
own,  or  strictly  control  in  the  most  extensive  manner,  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  people,  as  much 
as  this  is  possible  and  practicable,  the  State  should  have  the 
management  of  all  distilleries  and  make  but  the  purest  and 
best  of  whisky,  brandy  and  the  other  domestic  liquors,  allow 
no  spurious  and  inferior  article  to  be  imported  on  any  account, 
and  sell  only  to  such  wholesale  and  retail  dealers  as  can 
furnish  the  necessary  bonds  to  the  effect  that  they  will  not 
adulterate  nor  deteriorate  the  liquors  purchased  by  them,  in 
any  way,  shape  or  manner.  Severe  penalties  should  be 
attached  to  such  provisions  and  the  license  forever  withdrawn 


I,EGISI,ATION.  105 

from  offending  parties.  The  liquor  trade  would  flourish  just 
the  same,  but  the  consumer  would  not  be  poisoned  and  driven 
to  crime  and  frenzy  by  inferior  and  doctored  liquor.  Absolute 
prohibition  is  an  infringement  on  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
the  people,  high  license  an  exaction  on  the  part  of  the 
authorities  resembling  robbery,  and  local  option  a  policy  only 
apt  to  create  confusion,  disorder  and  bitterness  among  the 
people.  There  you  have  it  all  in  a  nutshell,  as  the  saying  is. 

We  are  of  the  opinion,  however,  that  the  use  of  spirituous 
liquors  as  a  daily  beverage  should  be  discouraged  in  every 
possible  way  and  the  people  be  educated  gradually  to  use 
nothing  but  wine  and  beer  ;  these  are  not  productive  of  habits 
of  intoxication,  unless  used  to  excess.  As  an  example  to  prove 
this  assertion  we  have  all  great  wine-producing  countries  like 
France,  Germany,  Switzerland,  Spain,  Italy  and  Greece,  where 
you  will  find  less  habitual  intoxication,  even  among  the  lower 
classes,  than  in  England,  Ireland,  and  these  United  States  of 
North  America,  where  the  ' '  cratur ' '  is  the  preferred  drink  of 
nearly  everybody  that  drinks  at  all. 

We  have  nice  and  pure  wines  of  many  varieties  and  at  reason- 
able prices  in  California  and  some  Eastern  States ;  there  are 
other  districts  in  the  West  and  Southwest  where  the  grape 
could  and  should  be  cultivated  with  great  success.  If  the 
wine-growers  of  California  would  only  let  their  products  mature 
and  rest  for  a  couple  of  years,  as  is  done  in  other  and  older 
wine-producing  countries,  and  without  which  process  the  divine 
liquid  will  never  attain  that  state  of  perfection  that  will  make 
it  acceptable,  drinkable  and  palatable,  and  if  the  greedy, 
unscrupulous  middlemen  will  only  refrain  from  their  absurd 
and  reckless  manipulations  of  the  pure,  natural  wine  by 
adulteration,  cutting,  watering,  and  various  contaminating 
processes,  our  people  would  very  soon  become  educated  to  the 
proper  taste  for  and  daily  consumption  of  the  native  wines  at 
table  and  in  places  of  refreshment.  Wine  is  the  milk  of  the 
aged  and  feeble.  Old  Noah  was  in  the  habit  of  tasting  it,  and 
his  is  the  first  instance  of  intoxication  mentioned  in  sacred 
history.  He  evidently  preserved  a  shoot  of  vine  among  his 
other  plants  on  board  of  his  old  ark,  since  he  expected  to  effect 
a  landing  at  some  period  or  other  to  reset  it.  The  wine  of 
those  primitive  vines  must  have  been  a  poor  beverage, 


106  LEGISLATION. 

considering  the  absence  of  barrels  and  glassware  and  the  use 
of  queer  amphorae  and  jugs,  in  which  it  could  not  well  be 
preserved.  Their  wine,  down  to  the  Roman  period,  may  have 
been  taken  during  the  stage  of  first  fermentation,  when  it  is  the 
most  intoxicating.  Our  Lord  and  Saviour  did  not  despise  his 
cup  of  wine  at  his  meals,  neither  did  he  prohibit  and  vilify  it 
before  the  people,  as  his  often  unworthy  followers  are  in  the 
habit  of  doing  in  these  enlightened  times,  still  obscured  by 
many  clouds  of  prejudice  and  disgusting  intolerance. 

California  wines,  of  pure,  mature  and  healthy  quality,  ought 
to  find  a  ready  and  eager  sale  at  fifty  cents  a  gallon  in  any  part 
of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  which  would  be  but 
twenty-five  cents  a  bottle  retail,  and  come  within  the  reach  of 
every  man.  There  ought  not  to  be  enough  wine  left  for 
exportation  to  foreign  countries,  if  we  only  knew  how  to 
appreciate  that  which  the  Lord  in  the  first  place  and  the 
toiling  vintager  has  bestowed  upon  an  ungrateful  mankind. 

As  regards  beer,  it  is  a  perfectly  harmless  drink ,  when  made 
of  pure  and  good  ingredients,  a  requisite  our  Federal  Govern- 
ment should  also  look  to  and  strictly  insist  on  by  severe  pen- 
alties and  the  closing  of  contravening  breweries.  As  it  is,  the 
common  lager  beer  is  hardly  stronger  than  colored  water. 

During  a  sojourn  of  twelve  months  in  France,  Italy,  Switzer- 
land, Germany,  Austria,  Hungary  and  Spain,  strange  to  say, 
we  have  not  come  across  a  single  case  of  real  intoxication, 
England  alone  excepted,  where  we  noticed  more  than  one 
sinner  in  this  line,  even  on  the  Lord's  Sabbath. 


It  may  safely  be  asserted  that  one-third  of  the  fires  that 
desolate  and  impoverish  our  communities  are  the  result  of 
criminal  carelessness,  cupidity  and  arson.  This  is  the  result 
of  the  innumerable  more  or  less  solvent  insurance  companies. 
This  branch  should  also  be  under  the  absolute  and  strictest 
control  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  the  crime  of  arson, 
when  attended  by  the  loss  of  life,  be  punished  with  death, 
otherwise  with  hard  labor  for  life.  Give  us  Draconian  laws 
for  assault  to  murder,  murder,  and  arson,  and  let  these  awful 
crimes  be  punished  with  death  ! 


IV.    THE  PRESS. 

rPHE  name  of  the  mechanical  instrument  has  been  given  to 
1  that  comparatively  modern  institution,  which  enables  the 
reading  portion  of  civilized  humanity  to  grasp  the  mental 
productions  of  learned  and  diligent  men,  whether  they  write 
for  purposes  of  instruction,  for  glory,  from  motives  of  vanity, 
or  for  mercenary  purposes.  The  public  has  nothing  to  do 
with  these  motives  and  does  not  appreciate  them  ;  it  pays  for 
the  books  and  newspapers,  and  makes  such  profitable  use  of 
their  text  as  may  be  compatible  with  the  intelligence  and 
faculties  of  each  individual.  The  written  combination  of 
thought,  the  gist  and  substance  of  profound  researches,  the 
solid  gathering  of  news,  fiction  and  flimsy  gossip,  are  first 
materialized  by  the  process  of  the  setting  of  the  type,  scat- 
tered and  assorted  in  flat  cases  with  irregular  square  com- 
partments. This  is  an  operation  as  tedious  as  it  is  difficult, 
and  yet  it  enables  the  operator  to  acquire  knowledge  from  the 
very  promiscuous  character  of  the  "  copy,"  as  the  manuscripts 
are  called  ;  and,  if  he  be  in  the  least  degree  intelligent  and 
attentive,  he  is  sure  to  derive  profit  from  this  instruction. 
The  materialized  type  passes  from  the  setter's  hand  into  the 
marvelous  machine,  that  not  only  imprints  the  material  of 
the  brain  in  clear  and  intelligible  letters,  but  is  capable  of 
almost  infinite  reproduction.  The  art  of  printing  originated 
in  Strassburg  in  1450.  Faust,  Gutenberg  and  Schoffer  were 
the  three  combined  inventors.  The  type  was  cut  by  hand  on 
blocks  of  wood,  and  could  not  be  used  for  any  length  of  time, 
until  the  metallic  type  was  invented.  The  progress  of  print- 
ing was  very  slow  ;  it  took  centuries  to  attain  its  recent  stage 
of  perfection,  affording  to  the  people  the  immense  and  priceless 
advantages  of  cheap  books  and  periodicals.  Instruction  and 
information  are  now  conveyed  to  all  in  a  leisurely,  free  and 
easy  maner,  of  which  our  ancestors  had  no  idea.  A  Bible,  for 
instance,  three  hundred  years  ago,  cost  thousands  of  dollars 


108  THE    PRESS. 

a  copy,  and  was  considered  of  such  value  that  it  was  chained 
to  a  heavy  desk  for  greater  security,  somewhat  in  the  manner 
of  business  directories  in  our  drug  stores.  All  this  has  under- 
gone a  wonderful  change,  especially  during  the  present  cen- 
tury, the  close  of  which  is  marked  by  the  highest  state  of 
perfection  the  art  of  printing  will  probably  ever  attain. 

The  diffusion  of  knowledge  and  information  among  tbe 
masses  has  become  an  immense  power,  a  power  which  is  of 
the  greatest  benefit  when  wielded  with  noble  intents  and  pure 
motives,  and  which,  in  the  hands  of  the  viciously  inclined, 
the  man  of  perverse  notions,  the  corrupt  and  the  venal  and 
mercenary,  becomes  a  public  danger  and  a  nuisance.  Unfor- 
tunately a  great  portion  of  the  books  published  are  trash,  not 
worth  the  paper  and  binding,  and  part  of  our  newspapers 
positively  injurious  to  the  healthy  progress  of  the  mind. 
Such  works  and  papers  ought  to  be  prohibited,  confiscated 
and  destroyed,  as  they  were  in  ancient  times,  when  the  public 
executioner  burned  them  on  the  town  square  in  the  presence  of 
the  multitude  by  order  of  the  potentate. 

Before  proceeding  let  us  throw  a  short  retrospective  glance 
at  the  early  stages  of  journalism  in  Burope  and  in  the  United 
States  of  North  America. 

The  glory  for  publishing  the  first  regular  journal  by  right 
belongs  to  that  nation  of  thinkers,  Germany.  There  are  still 
existing  in  some  libraries  a  few  sample  copies  of  so-called 
"  news  pamphlets,"  not  regular  sheets,  published  in  Germany 
prior  to  the  seventeenth  century.  These  were  followed  by  the 
Frankfurter  Journal,  published  in  the  year  1615,  once  a 
week  only,  contrary  to  the  title  it  bore,  which  means  "  daily." 
In  1622  appeared  the  London  News ;  the  Gazette  de  France 
saw  light  in  Paris  in  1631.  Journalism  was  very  slow  in 
developing  in  those  times,  and  the  so-called  newspapers  were 
of  ridiculously  small  proportion.  In  1704  up  to  1740  the 
Hnglish  began  to  enter  into  polemics  and  to  write  leading 
articles  in  order  to  shape  public  opinion.  France  followed  in 
this  evolution  of  the  press  during  the  great  revolution  of  1789, 
and  Germany  in  1796.  A  French  author  of  that  period  says  : 
'''Suffer  yourself  to  be  blamed,  imprisoned,  condemned;  suffer 
yourself  even  to  be  hanged,  but  publish  your  opinions  ;  it  is  not 


LTY 


THE     PRESS.  109 

only  a  right,  it  is  a  duty  !  "  It  was  in  England,  however,  that 
this  course  was  first  taken  up  practically,  and  that,  too,  in  the 
face  of  fine,  imprisonment,  suppression  and  the  pillory,  at  a 
time  when  the  public  in  France  had  to  depend  principally 
upon  foreign  papers  imported  and  circulated  in  secret  from 
hand  to  hand.  The  editors  and  authors  of  those  papers  had  to 
resort  to  all  sorts  of  trickery,  blinds  and  subterfuges  to  escape 
the  responsibilities  of  avowed  authorship.  In  Germany  jour- 
nalism has  made  slow  but  steady  advances  onward,  especially 
in  the  grand  feature  of  gathering  information  from  even  the 
remotest  regions,  not  only  of  current  events  but  of  the  growth 
of  opinion  and  the  condition  of  social  life,  its  wants  and 
phases. 

Journalism  in  Italy  begins  with  the  Diario  di  Roma  in 
1716;  but  this  was  subject  to  the  strictest  clerical  censure, 
and  politics  played  but  an  insignificant  figure  in  the  Italian 
papers  until  those  of  Sardinia,  at  the  impulse  of  the  great 
Cavour,  began  to  foreshadow  the  approach  of  an  influential 
free  Italian  press,  such  as  exists  at  the  present  day.  In  Spain, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  no  press  can  be  traced  back  further  than 
the  close  of  the  last  century.  An  American  traveler,  as  late  as 
1826,  writes  that,  during  the  whole  of  his  peninsular  tour,  he 
could  not  lay  his  hands  on  more  than  two  newspapers.  The 
oldest  regular  periodical  on  record  is  the  Frankfurter  Journal, 
published  in  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  and  which  continued  to 
exist  until  the  present  time. 

The  first  newspaper  in  America  appeared  in  Boston,  Mass., 
in  September,  1690,  under  the  title  of  Public  Occurrences,  but 
was  suppressed  by  the  Governor  of  the  Province.  This  paper 
was  a  small  quarto  sheet,  and  one  of  the  pages  blank.  The 
Boston  Gazette  began  in  1719,  edited  by  James  Franklin,  elder 
brother  of  the  celebrated  Benjamin  Franklin  ;  it  lasted  until 
1754.  Benjamin  Franklin  started  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette 
in  1729,  and  continued  its  weekly  publication  until  1765.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  struggle  for  American  independence 
in  1775,  Massachusetts  possessed  seven  newspapers;  New  Hamp- 
shire, one  ;  Rhode  Island,  two  ;  Connecticut,  three  :  in  all,  but 
thirteen  for  the  New  England  Colonies.  Pennsylvania  had 
eight,  New  York  but  three,  the  oldest  being  the  New  York 


110  THE     PRESS. 

Gazette,  founded  in  1725.  Up  to  that  period  Boston  and  Phila- 
delphia were  the  only  towns  possessing  a  newspaper  throughout 
America.  In  the  middle  and  southern  Colonies  there  were  in 
1775  in  all  ten  journals,  of  which  Maryland,  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina  possessed  each  two,  South  Carolina  three  and 
Georgia  one.  The  total  number  of  the  Anglo-American  papers 
was  thirty-four,  all  of  them  weekly  publications. 

In  those  colonial  days,  liberty  of  the  press  could  not  and  did 
not  exist,  and  any  delinquent  paper  was  promptly  seized, 
fined,  or  suppressed,  as  it  did  not  behoove  the  mother  country 
to  allow  her  colonial  subjects  free  discussion  and  criticism  of 
her  rule.  Liberty  of  the  press  commenced  with  the  revolu- 
tionary period  and  increased  at  the  same  ratio  as  the  numbers 
and  size  of  the  successive  publications,  until  in  our  time  the 
papers  are  of  monster  proportions,  partly  filled  with  nonsense, 
trash  and  obnoxious  matter;  and  the  much  vaunted  "liberty  " 
of  the  press  has  become  "license,"  a  real  danger  to  the 
community,  instead  of  the  noble  and  beneficial  power  our 
thousands  of  newspapers  ought  by  rights  to  exercise. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  century  the  papers  were  small 
sheets,  printed  on  poor  paper  and  with  indifferent  type ;  the 
presses,  though  quite  ingenious  for  the  times,  were  manipulated 
by  hand,  and  the  printing  process,  page  by  page  and  sheet  by 
sheet,  was  necessarily  very  slow ;  neither  could  any  of  these 
presses  turn  out  anything  even  approaching  the  issues  of  the 
present  day  ;  the  capacity  was  only  for  a  few  thousand 
copies,  these  being  sufficient  to  meet  the  demand  at  a  period 
when  one  paper  subscribed  to  by  an  extravagant  citizen  was 
generally  loaned  from  house  to  house  as  a  matter  of  economy 
and  neighborly  feeling.  How  very  different  is  this  now,  when 
every  town  of  15,000  inhabitants  has  at  least  one  daily  paper 
of  its  own,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  county-seat  without  its 
weekly,  even  if  there  be  but  1,000  inhabitants  and  often  less. 

The  English  first  invented  and  perfected  a  curious  and 
complicated  machine  called  the  "fast  press,"  which,  though 
at  first  also  worked  by  hand  power  applied  to  cogwheels,  soon 
found  extraordinary  speed  by  the  application  of  steam  force 
and  further  steps  toward  the  present  prefection.  The 
development  of  the  modern  newspaper  is  due  to  a  union  of 


THE     PRESS.  Ill 

causes,  bordering  almost  on  the  marvelous.  A  machine  which, 
from  a  web  or  spool  of  endless  paper  three  or  four  miles  long, 
can  in  one  hour  or  so  print,  fold,  cut  and  deliver  from  its 
bewilderingly  complicated  mechanism  twenty-four  to  twenty- 
five  thousand  perfected  broadsheets  is  after  all  not  so  great 
a  wonder  as  the  organizing  skill  that  centralizes  in  a  London 
office  the  telegraphic  news  from  Europe,  Asia,  Africa, 
America  and  Australia,  and  retransmits  the  news  from  Great 
Britain.  Add  to  this  concentration  and  radiation  of  news  the 
unusual  mental  gifts,  the  high  culture  and  working  capacity  in 
the  editorial  rooms,  which  combine  to  develop  public  opinion 
on  the  great  public  questions  and  general  interests,  and  to 
guide  this  public  opinion,  and  we  cannot  in  justice  envy  the 
great  success  achieved  by  a  number  of  the  modern  periodicals, 
nor  the  amount  of  shekels  that  swell  their  rich  harvests. 

The  New  York  Associated  Press  is  the  chief  news  agency 
of  the  whole  American  continent.  This  is  an  association 
between  the  New  York  Herald,  Tribune,  Times,  Sun, 
World,  Journal  of  Commerce,  Mail  and  Express,  etc.,  etc., 
for  the  collection  of  such  news  as  its  members  may 
wish  to  use  in  common  and  for  the  sale  of  items  to  others. 
This  association  and  the  Western  Associated  Press  distribute 
the  news  to  the  members  of  both  associations,  and  sell  it  to  a 
great  number  of  individual  papers  and  other  associations. 
They  transmit  proceedings  of  Congress  and  of  State  Legis- 
latures, the  text  of  public  documents,  market  news,  ocean 
cablegrams,  and  in  general  accounts  of  all  public  occurrences 
of  interest,  lies,  nonsense  and  trash  of  course  included ;  and 
here  is  where  the  shoe  pinches;  for  news  at  this  time  is  sought 
for  more  on  account  of  the  quantity  than  the  quality  of  tha 
material,  and  but  little  discrimination  is  shown  between  the 
useful  and  really  interesting  correctness  and  truth  and  the 
sensational  items,  doubtful  reports  and  irresponsible  communi- 
cations. What  should  prove  a  boundless  blessing  to  reading 
humanity  is  thus  frequently  converted  into  an  intolerable 
nuisance.  Chaos  and  disorder  pervade  the  public  press,  in 
books  no  less  than  in  periodicals;  and,  if  reform  is  indispensable 
in  so  many  public  institutions,  it  is  no  less  so  in  the  manage- 
ment of  publications  circulated  among  so  many  people. 


THE     PRESS. 

Most  of  our  newspapers  have  grown  up  and  developed  like 
fungi,  and  their  contents  have  become  so  heterogeneous  that 
it  is  very  difficult  to  distinguish  between  the  poisonous  and  the 
harmless  product  they  dish  up  for  the  pretended  gratification 
of  all  tastes,  from  the  esthetic  to  the  prurient. 

In  the  first  place  our  papers  in  general  are  too  unwieldy, 
their  size  is  extravagant,  and  they  contain  twice  and  three  times 
as  much  reading-matter  as  any  reasonable  person  can  possibly 
expect,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  hardly  one  in  a  hundred 
expects  or  cares  for  such  an  amount  of  reading-matter.  Then 
the  type  is  far  too  small,  and  contributes  not  a  little  to  the 
growing  evil  of  nearsightedness  and  other  more  serious  eye- 
troubles  amongst  our  people.  The  items  of  news  are  not 
properly  classified  under  their  respective  and  distinct  headings 
and  corresponding  columns,  but  scattered  pell-mell  through 
the  monster  sheets,  hard  to  find  when  you  look  for  them,  and 
good  news  scarce  like  one  pearl  in  a  hundred  empty  shells. 
The  character  of  the  news  is  promiscuous  to  an  excessive 
degree;  immoral  and  highly  sensational  matter  is  eagerly 
sought  for,  hunted  up  in  every  nook  and  corner,  and  the  corrupt 
and  insipid  taste  of  a  few  individuals  catered  to,  against  that 
of  the  thousands  of  honorable  and  well-inclined  readers. 

Neither  is  the  basis  and  truth  of  the  news  items  properly 
ascertained.  This  is  a  secondary  object ;  the  main  effort  is  to 
bring  news  of  any  kind,  the  more  startling  the  better,  and 
if,  as  is  the  case  twice  in  three  times,  the  news  is  incorrect, 
it  may  be  rectified  later  on  ;  or,  if  some  poor  individual  has 
been  publicly  exposed,  disgraced,  assaulted  and  vilified,  a 
tardy,  flimsy,  hypocritical  apology  is  generally  all  he  may 
obtain  in  the  way  of  rectification  and  satisfaction,  because  our 
juries,  as  at  present  constituted,  cannot  agree  on  verdicts,  and 
are  often  afraid  of  the  "power  of  the  press."  And  what  is 
this  power  of  the  press  after  all  ?  It  is  often  nothing  more 
than  the  conception  of  an  article,  the  personal  opinion  on 
some  subject  or  occurrence,  the  natural  spite  and  venom, 
the  want  of  proper  knowledge  and  education,  the  lack  of 
fairness,  equity  and  impartiality,  or  the  venality  and  corrup- 
tion of  one  single  individual,  be  he  editor  or  reporter.  And 
this  is  what  we  are  pleased  to  call  "public  opinion."  Great 


THE     PRESS.  113 

Caesar  !  We  now  come  to  the  main  sources  of  the  legitimate 
income  of  the  papers,  the  advertisements.  These  are  generally 
classified  by  columns,  and  occupy  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  sheet.  We  have  nothing  to  say  about  the  charges  made 
on  advertisements,  although  it  seems  to  us  that  these  could 
be  considerably  reduced  by  diminishing  the  reading  text  of 
the  other  portions,  one-half  of  which  is  generally  useless 
trash  of  no  public  interest  whatever.  After  all  it  is  the 
advertisements  that  sustain  and  enrich  our  papers,  and  the 
advertisers  are  entitled  to  and  ought  to  insist  on  larger  type 
and  more  space  for  their  good  coin.  There  ought  to  be  a 
responsible  editor  for  each  paper,  a  learned,  cautious,  impartial 
and  fair-minded  man  ;  he  need  not  be  particularly  gifted,  if  he 
is  assisted  by  talented  writers  ;  but  it  should  be  his  province 
to  examine  every  article,  every  news  item,  every  leader,  that  it 
is  proposed  to  publish  in  the  next  issue, — correct  and  amend 
such  as  seem  to  him  defective  and  improper,  and  reject  all 
such  as  are  not  fit  for  publication,  useless  and  void  of  interest. 
In  short  the  responsible  editor  ought  to  be  the  censor  of  the 
whole  work  and  be  held  liable  for  transgressions,  indepen- 
dently of  judicial  measures  by  the  courts  when  complaints 
are  preferred.  Sensationalism  has  during  the  past  thirty  or 
forty  years  produced  an  entirely  new  species  of  men, — the 
"reporter,"  whose  profession  might  be  an  honorable  one,  but 
unfortunately  is  not  what  it  ought  to  be  in  many  cases. 
The  reporter  is  badly  paid,  but  it  is  expected  of  him,  that 
he  produce  items  at  any  cost  and  b)r  any  means,  and  that  he 
furnish  a  certain  amount  of  copy.  In  cases  of  the  arrival 
of  distinguished  travelers  and  other  notable  persons,  they 
rush  into  their  privacy  and  endeavor  to  interview  them  at  all 
hazards.  If  this  privilege  is  denied  them  in  rare  instances, 
they  often  revenge  themselves  by  flippant  and  sarcastical 
observations  in  writing,  thus  producing  erroneous  impressions 
concerning  the  objects  of  their  curiosity.  We  all  know  that 
there  are  many  and  brilliant  exceptions  to  this  general  rule. 
There  are  reporters  who  have  a  higher  aim  than  vulgar 
curiosity,  and  who  are  possessed  of  courteous  and  gentlemanly 
manners  ;  we  are  only  too  happy  to  admit  it. 


114  THE     PRESS. 

Whenever  a  crime  is  committed,  the  papers,  instead  of 
limiting  themselves  to  stating  the  simple  facts  without  any 
embellishments  and  precocious  comments,  go  to  work  imme- 
diately, even  before  the  minions  of  the  law  have  been  able  to 
perform  a  duty  that  exclusively  regards  them,  send  out 
their  reporters  to  investigate  the  occurrence  in  the  closest 
manner  and  print  this  information,  before  it  has  been  prop- 
erly sifted,  by  which  improper  process  the  ends  of  justice 
are  often  foiled  for  the  time  being,  if  not  absolutely  defeated. 

Newspapers  should  not  be  over  eighteen  inches  by  twelve 
inches  in  size,  be  printed  on  good  paper  and  with  clear 
type,  larger  by  all  means  than  that  in  use  at  present.  The 
news  should  be  properly  classified  in  columns  with  the  respec- 
tive headings,  so  that  the  reader  can  easily  find  what  may  be 
of  interest  to  him  and  skip  the  rest  if  he  wishes  to  do  so. 
The  leading  articles  should  be  fewer  and  of  a  higher  standard 
of  excellence  than  the  ruling  conglomeration  of  "stun0." 
Everything  contrary  to  public  decency,  propriety  and  moral- 
ity, and  all  offensive  personalities,  as  well  as  sarcastical, 
heartless  criticisms,  should  be  rigorously  excluded  from  the 
columns,  and  the  journal  be  such  as  can  be  laid  before  the 
family  without  any  hesitation.  The  papers  are  intended  for 
public  information  and  instruction,  and  not  for  the  edification 
of  the  evil  disposed  and  the  vicious  element  of  society. 

Considering  the  excessive  liberty  of  the  press,  the  enormous 
influence  it  can  exercise  for  good  and  for  evil,  and  the  many 
privileges  it  has  assumed  through  years  of  toleration  and 
apathy  on  the  part  of  the  public,  it  may  justly  be  asked  if 
that  same  press  should  not  be  subject  to  some  sort  of  control, 
of  censorship,  by  the  authorities.  Liberty  of  the  individual 
and  of  the  press  are  not  at  all  absolute  ;  in  the  same  manner 
in  which  a  solitary  person  cannot  in  public  indulge  in  all  the 
whims  and  caprices  that  may  occur  to  him,  in  that  same 
manner  is  the  press,  be  they  newspapers  or  books,  bound  to 
observe  certain  rules  and  abstain,  voluntarily  or  by  force,  from 
hurtful  and  obnoxious  text.  The  laws  governing  this  very 
subject  are  insufficient  and  require  a  revision  with  a  view  to 
strengthen  and  to  better  enforce  them.  A  few  prompt  convic- 
tions and  heavy  fines  would  very  soon  bring  the  proprietors 


THE     PRESS.  115 

and  editors  to  their  senses.  We  admire  the  system  in  force  in 
France,  Switzerland  and  other  European  countries,  where 
great  liberty  is  enjoyed  by  the  press  ;  but  there  is  also  retribu- 
tion for  its  offenses  in  the  shape  of  fines,  imprisonment,  confis- 
cation of  improper  editions,  and,  what  seems  to  work  miracles 
in  this  line,  suspension  of  the  paper  for  a  week,  a  fortnight,  or 
a  month,  equivalent  to  the  ruin  of  any  prosperous  sheet  for  a 
certain  period.  With  the  nine-jury  system  we  referred  to  in  a 
previous  chapter,  and  a  two-thirds  vote,  convictions  would  be 
easily  obtained,  and,  if  the  jury  do  not  agree,  let  the  honorable 
judge  render  the  decision. 

It  is  a  grievous  error  to  suppose,  as  is  often  alleged  by  our 
papers  and  their  satellites,  that  the  public  are  fond  of  sen- 
sational news,  prurient  and  improper  articles  ;  the  people  are 
nothing  of  the  kind,  a  few  insignificant  fools  excepted,  and 
the  improper  material  is  forced  upon  us  as  a  matter  of  fact.  All 
protestations,  criticisms  and  arguments  against  the  excesses  of 
the  press  are  futile  and  useless ;  nothing  will  reach  them  in  an 
efficacious  manner  but  fines,  imprisonment  and  suspension. 


By  way  of  illustration  of  the  tone  and  tendencies  of  our 
press,  let  us  pick  up  a  copy  of  one  of  the  most  influential 
western  papers  at  random  and  proceed  to  analyze  its  contents, 
omitting  the  good  and  sensible  portion  of  the  complicated 
mass  as  worthy  of  approval.  We  at  once  strike  a  lengthy 
telegram  coming  from  ocean  to  ocean  informing  us  that  Mr. 
N.  N.,  a  former  sport  and  extravagant  character  of  great 
wealth  and  of  not  very  savory  reputation,  has  been  married 
to  Miss  B.  B.,  giving  the  usual  caricature  intended  as  the 
portraits  of  the  happy  couple,  and  a  lengthy,  elaborate,  flat- 
tering description  of  the  ceremony,  the  family,  the  dresses 
worn,  the  presents,  the  names  of  the  guests,  the  Scotch  terrier, 
the  wedding  breakfast,  where  the  honeymoon  will  be  spent, 
etc.  This  telegram  occupies  over  a  column  of  the  paper  in 
close  type.  Now,  in  the  name  of  goodness,  we  ask,  what 
interest  can  the  public  have  in  this  event,  and  what  useful 
aim  and  object  is  accomplished  by  telegraphing  the  stuff  at 
all?  There  is  not  one  in  a  thousand  that  cares  a  peanut 


116  THE     PRESS. 

whether  this  man  N.  N.  gets  married  or  not,  and  in  what 
manner  he  gets  married.  We  next  find  three  columns  of 
after-comments  on  the  celebrated  combat  for  coin  and  so-called 
championship,  that  has  recently  taken  place  in  the  country 
discovered  by  Ponce  de  Leon.  These  comments  are  very 
insipid,  but  probably  interesting  to  many  readers  ;  but  for  the 
past  six  months  or  more  we  have  been  fed  to  satiety  on  news 
concerning  the  same  fight,  whether  to  be,  where  to  be  and 
how  to  be,  and  we  can  only  deplore  the  alleged  taste  and 
interest  of  certain  persons  in  prize-fight  literature.  Neither 
does  it  affect  or  interest  the  general  public  in  the  slightest 
degree,  that  a  sensational  suit  has  recently  been  brought  by  a 
single  young  woman  for  seduction  and  breach  of  promise  to 
marry,  against  one  of  the  silver-haired  and  probably  silver- 
tongued  Southern  congressional  luminaries.  The  details  of 
that  case,  and  the  lengthy,  complicated  and  tedious  proceed- 
ings, are  disgusting,  and  inspire  us  again  with  an  irresistible 
feeling  of  contempt  and  deep  sorrow  at  the  manner  in  which 
this  notorious  case  and  many  others  are  being  tried  by  the 
courts,  when  three  days,  at  the  utmost,  should  have  been 
sufficient  to  hear  and  render  a  verdict  in  favor  of  or  against 
defendant.  By  such  miserable  cases  is  the  time  of  our  courts 
taken  up  for  weeks  together,  and  such  is  the  tangling  web  of 
testimony,  affidavits,  cross-examinations,  rebuttal,  exceptions, 
ruling  in  and  ruling  out,  adjournments  and,  last  but  not  least, 
the  arrogant,  sophistical  oratory  of  counsel,  that  neither  judge 
nor  jury  nor  the  litigants  nor  the  public  are  able  finally  to 
comprehend  anything  at  all.  Then  follow  five  columns  of 
congressional  news  and  other  items  from  the  national  capital, 
which  might  be  read  with  real  interest,  if  they  were  not  for 
the  most  part  composed  of  prognostications  from  the  pen  of 
political  oracles  giving  their  private  opinions  only,  and  believ- 
ing themselves  possessed  of  the  far-seeing  powers  of  a  Cas- 
sandra. It  is  fads,  brief  and  concise,  that  we  want,  and  not 
possibilities,  probabilities  and  personal  opinions  of  those 
interviewed  by  the  importune  reporter.  If  Morse's  wonderful 
invention  is  principally  employed  in  our  days  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  such  miserable  trash,  the  sooner  the  wires  are  cut  down 
and  the  batteries  smashed,  the  better. 


THE     PRESS.  117 

Here  we  have  an  elopement  now :  Mr.  Briggs  of  Timbuctoo, 
a  married  man  of  no  means,  with  a  family  of  four  children, 
has  run  away  with  a  married  woman,  wife  of  a  prominent  mer- 
chant of  Samarkand  and  mother  of  two  infants,  she  taking 
away  the  nervus  rerum  in  the  shape  of  three  thousand  dollars. 
We  will  allow  that  this  astounding  (by  the  by  everyday) 
event  he  briefly  telegraphed  to  the  chiefs  of  police  of  the 
neighboring  villages  and  to  the  unfortunate  relatives  of  the 
guilty  fugitives;  but  we  protest  that  the  disgusting  details  of 
the  venture  should  not  be  dished  up  in  the  papers  for  weeks  and 
weeks.  The  irate  husband  (and  we  cannot  blame  him)  is  in 
hot  pursuit ;  his  dress,  appearance,  looks  and  words  are  given 
with  the  most  minute  description,  and  the  alleged  portraits  of 
the  principal  actors  printed  (in  reality  grotesque  caricatures). 
He  threatens  death  and  destruction  to  the  ravisher  of  his 
unfaithful  spouse,  but  is  willing  and  anxious  to  bring  back 
the  erring  woman  into  the  bosom  of  the  family.  What  a 
noble  mind  and  generous  heart  that  husband  must  have  to 
thus  forgive  the  poor,  innocent  woman  who  has  committed  no 
graver  offense  than  that  of  making  a  more  or  less  extended 
excursion  in  the  company  of  a  friend  of  the  house,  who  as  a 
matter  of  course  in  our  enlightened  country  is  alone  to  blame ! 
In  the  name  of  common  sense,  who  but  the  officers  of  the 
law,  the  friends  and  relatives,  and  very  likely  the  hosts  of  the 
hotels  where  they  stop  for  refreshment  and  rest,  cares  a  straw 
whether  these  people  elope  or  not, — what  they  do,  say,  eat  and 
drink  and  where  they  sleep.  Not  one  in  a  thousand  ;  ergo, 
the  publication  of  such  stuff  is  out  of  place  and  a  nuisance. 

Half  a  column  containing  a  telegram  from  New  York  of  a 
fuss  made  by  F.  Ridgway  Griffith,  Esquire,  at  the  door  of  the 
dressing-room  of  the  world's  champion, Corbett,  which  is  not 
of  the  slightest  interest  to  any  one  outside  of  the  theater 
where  it  took  place,  is  another  absurd  item  for  a  rational 
newspaper.  Of  the  seven  leading  articles  contained  in  the 
paper  before  us  only  one  is  ably  written  and  interesting  ;  the 
other  six  are  trash  gotten  up  to  earn  the  author's  wages  and 
to  fill  the  space. 

We  might  continue  our  extracts  and  quotations  indefinitely, 
but  refrain  from  doing  so,  in  order  not  to  fatigue  the  intelligent 
reader,  "  who  knows  how  it  is  himself." 


113  THE     PRESS. 

There  is  but  one  handsome  illustrated  paper  in  the  United 
States  of  North  America,  published  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
Our  dailies  for  some  years  past,  in  their  indecent  haste  of 
outdoing  each  other,  of  getting  more  subscribers  and  more 
advertisements,  have  adopted  the  practice  of  doubtful  taste 
and  utility  to  fill  their  pages  with  illustrations,  which  in 
reality  are  nothing  but  caricatures  as  regards  the  features  of 
the  persons  intended  to  be  reproduced ;  they  often  look  vul- 
gar and  even  horrible.  It  certainly  cannot  be  expected  of  a 
daily  paper  to  furnish  fine,  realistic  and  artistic  drawings  for 
the  modest  sum  of  a  few  cents  a  copy ;  neither  is  there  any 
demand,  any  need  for  such  engravings  on  the  part  of  the 
reader;  so  they  had  better  be  abolished  and  the  efforts  limited 
to  an  occasional  plan  or  map,  which  requires  no  particular  ar- 
tistic endeavors.  This  omission  would  make  a  great  reduction 
in  the  expenses  of  a  paper,  and  we  are  only  too  happy  to 
allow  the  management  and  proprietors  of  a  periodical  all  the 
legitimate  profit  they  can  make,  which  will  enable  some  of 
them  to  subsist  comfortably  without  recourse  to  blackmail! 


Our  papers  have  another  grave  fault,  which  is  too  pro- 
nounced interestedness  in  the  manner  of  furnishing  news  of 
current  events.  Any  dispatches  subscribed  to  and  paid  for 
by  the  Associated  Press  are  printed,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
and  so  are  letters  and  many  items  concerning  individuals, 
companies  and  societies  that  pay  other  than  direct  advertise- 
ments. Anything  that  might  possibly  savor  of  advertisement, 
or  result  to  the  advantage  of  any  individual  or  corpora- 
tion, is  rigorously  excluded,  unless  paid  for.  Suppose  a 
circus  of  mammoth  proportions  arrives  in  town  and  proceeds 
to  erect  its  gigantic  tent  on  a  vacant  lot ;  when  all  is  ready,  a 
brilliant  cavalcade  consisting  of  a  hundred  horses,  a  dozen 
elephants,  twenty  camels  and  fifty  cages  of  the  animal 
kingdom,  with  numerous  myrmidons,  passes  through  the  prin- 
cipal streets,  to  the  great  enjoyment  of  everybody,  old  and 
young.  If  that  circifs  has  not  advertised  in  the  papers,  not 
a  word  is  mentioned  of  it  in  their  columns,  although  the 
advent  of  a  circus  is  justly  considered  a  public  event  of  the 


THE     PRESS.  119 

utmost  interest.  Suppose  a  great  railroad  system  changes  its 
schedule  of  running-time,  departures  and  arrivals :  unless 
that  company  advertises  its  time-table  in  the  papers,  no 
notice  is  taken  of  the  alteration,  though  it  affects  the 
entire  population.  The  list  of  arrivals  at  a  first-class  hotel, 
even,  is  only  published  if  that  hotel  has  a  card  in  the 
paper  and  pays  for  it.  If  a  paper  regularly  mentions  the 
arrivals  in  one  or  more  hotels,  it  must  mention  them  all,  or 
omit  the  item  altogether,  else  it  becomes  partial  and  one-sided. 


There  are  several  papers  in  England,  especially  in  L,ondon, 
which  we  admire  very  much  on  account  of  their  superior  style 
and  appearance,  and  which  we  would  cite  as  models,  but 
for  the  small  type  prevailing  in  them  also.  As  it  is,  these 
papers  do  not  contain  one-third  part  of  the  incongruous 
material  accumulated  in  our  American  papers  ;  neither  is  it 
at  all  necessary  and  proper  that  they  should.  They  are  also 
free  from  caricatures,  so-called  illustrations,  thrust  upon  an 
innocent  and  harmless  American  public. 

Newspapers  cannot  all  be  original,  publish  the  very  latest 
news,  and  surpass  their  contemporary  journals  in  excellence  ; 
such  perfection  is  entirely  out  of  question,  and  the  at- 
tempts to  attain  it  presumptuous.  If  you  have  not  suffi- 
cient copy  of  your  own,  borrow  from  others,  quote  their  good 
articles,  and  do  not  be  in  the  least  ashamed  of  doing  so. 
There  is  a  pretty  weekly  published  in  Berlin,  called  the 
Echo,  of  magazine  size,  handsomely  printed  in  double 
columns,  which  does  not  contain  one  single  original  article; 
nor  does  it  pretend  to  give  any.  It  consists  only  of  carefully 
selected  extracts  and  clippings  from  the  most  celebrated 
papers  of  the  whole  world;  and,  for  this  very  reason,  the  Echo 
is  of  the  highest  standard  of  excellence  and  of  great  interest 
to  its  many  German  readers.  It  has  no  party  tendencies,  and 
is  entirely  impartial  in  politics,  giving  of  course  particular 
prominence  to  German  events. 


Comparatively  few  persons  are  vouchsafed  the  time  for 
reading,  study  and  travel  for  their  instruction  in  the  busi- 
ness communities  of  this  country  ;  they  depend,  therefore,  to 


120  THE     PRESS. 

a  great  extent  on  the  papers  for  general  knowledge.     This  is 
especially   the   case   with   the  news   from    foreign  countries, 
frequently  of  universal  interest  to  our  native-born  and  foreign 
population ;    hence   the  papers   play   the    important    role   of 
public   instructors  and  educators,  and,  as  such,  ought  to  fully 
appreciate  their  responsibility  and   strict  line  of  duty.     There 
is  but  one  voice  among  the  overwhelmingly  decent  portion  of 
the   population,    that    anything    immoral,    improper   and    of 
ambiguous  meaning   should  be  eliminated  from  the  papers. 
A  great  many  events   had  much  better  be   entirely   ignored 
than  even  partly  published  and  alluded  to.     Details  of  crime 
and  wickedness  are  not  interesting  and  only  harmful ;  and  so 
are   unpleasant    personal   disputes    and   controversies.      The 
private  life  of  a  citizen  and  his  family  affairs  are  not  subjects 
proper  for   printed  public  criticism,  and  should  be  kept  sacred. 
We  again  say  that  it  is  but  a  small  minority  who  crave  the  sen- 
sational, the  indecent  and  immoral,  and  who  gloat  and  rejoice 
over  scandal,  be  it  ever  so  great.      The  paper  would  certainly 
be  benefited  financially  if  it  were  of  such  pure   and  sterling 
quality    that  it    could    pass   the    threshold   of   every  house 
without  being  subject  to  quarantine  on  the  part  of  the  family 
head. 

During  a  recent  useless  crusade  against  the  excesses  of 
the  press,  we  read  the  following  sensible  opinion  in  one  of  the 
resolutions  : 

"  We  approve  of  our  papers  in  their  energy  and  enterprise, 
but  we  believe  the  time  has  come  for  them  to  take  a  higher 
stand  on  the  question  of  public  morals.  We  deplore  in  them 
'sensationalism,'  not  the  exposure  of  crime.  We  deplore 
'personalities,'  not  the  public  announcement  of  personal  acts. 
We  believe  that  it  is  a  minority  of  readers  who  demand 
sensational,  personal  and  immoral  details,  rather  than  a 
simple,  clean  statement  of  facts  and  truth.  There  is  too 
often  a  minuteness  of  detail  in  the  reports  given  of  crime, 
wickedness  and  sensuality,  which  can  gratify  but  prurient 
and  vulgar  curiosity,  or  awaken  it  in  innocent  and  inexpe- 
rienced minds.  We  feel  that  spreading  broadcast  vicious 
and  debasing  news  in  our  homes  and  among  our  children, 
and  the  consequent  knowledge  and  easy  familiarity  with 


THE     PRESS.  121 

crime  in  all  its  forms,  has  a  tendency  to  lower  the  tone  of 
thought  among  the  best  of  our  people,  and  to  strengthen 
the  worst  instincts  among  the  morally  lower  classes.  We 
therefore  most  earnestly  and  respectfully  petition  the  press 
at  this  time  to  make  a  concerted  effort  to  elevate  the  moral 
tone  of  their  columns,  and  to  give  us  newspapers  free  from 
the  evils  we  deplore,  feeling  confident  that  the  majority  of 
the  public  will  encourage  such  an  effort,  and  promising 
our  heartfelt  co-operation  and  support." 


There  are  certain  weekly  papers  printed  in  the  East  on 
pretty,  rose-colored  paper;  but,  as  the  saying  is,  "no  rose 
without  thorns;"  they  are  full  of  criminal,  prize-fighting 
and  other  vicious  and  immoral  items,  illustrated  by  vulgar, 
obscene  and  entirely  unartistic  engravings,  nearly  all  drawn 
on  the  same  model,  particularly  the  never-failing  full-sized 
female  figure  in  tights,  representing  some  second-hand  variety 
actress.  These  publications  ought  to  be  immediately  abolished 
by  law ,'  as  it  is,  they  are  generally  found  in  low  saloons, 
bootblack  stands,  and  exhibited  in  the  show  windows  of 
small  bookstores,  although  we  have  on  more  than  one 
occasion  surprised  them  in  the  homes  of  respectable  ladies, 
who  must  have  got  hold  of  them  in  some  innocent  manner. 
These  rose-colored  weeklies  are  regularly  constituted  apolo- 
gies of  crime,  and  very  seldom  contain  any  but  obnoxious 
text  and  stupid,  lewd  pictures. 

What  we  find  blameworthy  and  condemn  in  the  newspapers, 
we  also  find  fault  with  in  other  literature,  although  not  to  such 
a  strong  degree,  because  books  we  can  select  ourselves  ;  they 
are  not  thrust  upon  us  like  the  items  in  the  papers,  whether  we 
approve  of  them  or  not.  There  are  a  great  many  books  which, 
though  containing  matters  improper  for  young  people  to  read 
and  remember,  are  of  great  literary  value  and  necessary  for  in- 
formation and  instruction,  such  as  the  classics,  medical  and 
other  scientific  works.  These  should  be  kept  separate  under 
lock  and  key  in  the  families  and  public  schools,  access  being 
only  allowed  to  those  entitled  to  read  them  by  virtue  of  their 
age  and  preliminary  studies. 


122  THE     PRESS. 

The  publishing  and  selling  sensational  books,  dime  novels 
of  the  "  trash"  quality,  and  other  stupid  and  pernicious  litera- 
ture, leaving  alone  obscenities,  should  also  be  prohibited  by 
law,  the  works  condemned,  and  the  authors  and  sellers  fined. 
This  would  by  no  means  be  an  encroachment  on  the  liberty 
of  the  press  and  its  many  brilliant  and  eminent  workers,  but  a 
check  on  the  license  of  the  press  in  the  interest  of  decency, 
morality  and  propriety. 


V.    EDUCATION. 

IF  THE  writer  of  this  little  book  had  chosen  to  sing  the  praises 
of  and  do  homage  to  the  grand  and  splendid  country  which 
it  is  our  good  fortune  to  own  and  live  in,  his  task  would  have 
been  much  more  pleasant  and  gratifying  than  that  of  consti- 
tuting himselt  into  a  stern  censor  of  our  public  organizations 
and  institutions.  He  could  then  have  dilated  to  his  and  every- 
body's heart's  content  on  the  vast  extent  of  this  nearly  square 
Republic,  bordered  but  by  one  country  north  and  one  south, 
and  by  two  mighty  oceans  east  and  west ;  on  the  variety  and 
beauty  of  the  scenery  in  most  places  ;  on  the  rough  formations 
of  hills  and  mountains  in  other  regions  ;  on  the  mighty  rivers, 
lakes  and  streams,  headed  by  the  Father  of  the  Rivers,  the 
mighty  Mississippi ;  on  the  richness  and  fertility  of  the  soil  ; 
on  the  genius,  activity  and  enterprise  of  the  inhabitants ;  on 
the  agricultural  and  wonderful  mineral  and  metallic  wealth 
brought  to  light  for  the  benefit  and  enjoyment  of  the  whole 
globe  ;  on  the  free  institutions,  ever  subject  to  the  control  and 
pleasure  of  the  people,  and  on  a  host  of  other  advantages  and 
blessings  bestowed  by  the  Almighty,  by  nature  and  by  humble 
man  on  these  lucky  United  States  of  North  America.  But, 
unfortunately,  such  is  not  the  writer's  proposition,  aim  and 
object.  Leaving  this  to  a  different  style  of  "composers,"  he 
has,  in  a  purely  humanitarian  and  essentialy  patriotic  spirit, 
taken  upon  his  shoulders  the  unpleasant  and  ungrateful  duty 
of  finding  fault  with  what  seemeth  to  his  scrutinizing  mind 
and  unusual  experience,  improper,  defective  and  dangerous  in 
our  laws,  institutions  and  the  whole  of  th^,political  organiza- 
tions. In  the  pursuit  of  this  great  task  we  have  now  come  to 
a  chapter,  in  which  we  are  pleased  to  say  there  is  but  little  to 
criticise  ;  no  words  of  deep  indignation  and  reproach  are  needed 
in  this  department,  as  we  were  compelled  to  make  use  of  in  the 
previous  chapters  and  will  have  again  to  resort  to  later  on, 
much  to  our  regret. 


124  EDUCATION. 

Compared  with  the  public  schools  of  other  countries,  those 
of  the  United  States  probably  stand  at  the  head  of  all.  Vast 
amounts  of  money,  levied  by  general  taxation,  are  expended 
on  countless  fine,  appropriate  school  buildings,  comfortably 
fitted  out,  ventilated,  heated,  and  supplied  with  all  the  neces- 
sary utensils,  books,  and  other  apparatus  required  for  the  pur- 
poses of  education.  Fine  teachers,  of  both  sexes,  if  not 
always  the  best,  preside  over  the  classes  ;  the  children  are 
treated  with  great  justice  and  undisputable  fairness,  and,  if 
any  pupil  is  really  desirous  and  anxious  to  learn,  he  has  every 
chance  afforded  him  to  do  so.  Compared  with  European  pub- 
lic schools,  we  have  often  been  struck  by  the  remarkable  dif- 
ference in  the  conduct  of  the  scholars  inside  and  outside  of 
the  schoolhouses.  In  Europe  there  is  more  ill-conduct  in  the 
classes  and  consequently  more  and  severer  punishment  needed 
than  in  our  country.  The  noise  and  turmoil  upon  being 
dismissed  for  recreation,  or  at  the  close  of  school  hours,  is 
something  unpleasant  to  the  American  ear  ;  because  we  are 
accustomed  to  see  the  children  retire  from  the  building  in  a 
systematic,  orderly  manner  and  repair  to  their  homes  without 
any  disgraceful  shouting  and  scrambling  around  like  a  herd 
of  young  goats.  Our  text  books,  too,  are  superior  to  those  of 
other  countries,  nicer  print,  and  durable,  often  elegant,  bind- 
ing ;  their  cost  is  trifling,  and  those  children  whose  parents 
are  in  indigent  circumstances  are  supplied  the  requisite  books 
free  of  charge  and  of  humiliating  conditions.  So  much  for  the 
public  schools  up  to  about  the  fifteenth  year.  As  for  the 
private  educational  establishments  of  Europe  and  the  higher 
departments  of  education  and  the  great  universities,  they  are 
undoubtedly  superior  to  ours  in  many  respects,  a  superiority 
that  is  easily  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  academical 
preparatory  colleges,  "gymasia  and  lycea,"  as  they  are  called 
there,  as  well  as  tl% famous,  incomparable  polytechnic  schools 
and  the  world-renowned  universities,  are  owned  and  supported 
by  the  government,  and  do  not  depend  in  the  slightest  degree 
on  the  caprice  of  the  students  and  the  fees  to  be  paid  for 
instruction.  The  government  employs  the  very  best  and  most 
excellent  professors,  pays  them  liberally,  and  expels  any 
transgressing  student  without  hesitation,  which  is  not  the  case 


EDUCATION.  125 

in  our  sectional  colleges  and  universities,  that  partly  depend 
on  the  students'  contribution  and  are  over-indulgent  for 
offenses  committed  and  for  lack  of  application. 

In  our  age  of  progress  and  general  democratic  development  of 
equality,  it  is  but  proper  that  every  child  should  be  afforded  and 
even  compelled  to  receive  some  education  ;  but  here  a  strict 
line  should  be  drawn  !  The  State  cannot  and  should  not  be 
expected  to  give  every  man  and  woman  an  elaborate,  classical, 
superior  education  free  of  charge ;  let  such  parents  as  can 
afford  to  keep,  feed  and  clothe  their  children  from  the  age  of 
fifteen  up  to  the  period  of  graduation  from  the  higher  educa- 
tional establishments  pay  for  that  advantage  and  comparative 
luxury  !  The  ordinary  citizen  of  limited  means  and  the  poor 
man  are  taxed  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the  public  schools; 
but  is  it  right  and  equitable  that,  after  he  has  been  compelled 
by  circumstances  to  withdraw  his  children  from  the  further 
attendance  there,  because  he  has  to  put  them  to  some  trade  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  in  the  case  of  the  boys,  or  needs  the  girls  at 
home  for  household  duties,  that  he  should  continue  to  con- 
tribute for  the  cheap  and  higher  education  of  the  rich  man's 
children  ?  We  say,  it  is  wrong.  Commencing  from  the 
highest  grade  of  the  grammar  school  the  scholars  should  be 
admitted  to  the  high  schools,  colleges  and  universities  only 
upon  the  payment  of  a  corresponding  matriculation  fee  and 
semestrial  contribution  for  the  courses,  that  will  prepare  him 
for  the  so-called  nobler  professions,  supposed  to  give  him  an 
easier  life,  higher  standing,  and  a  better  income  than  the  less 
fortunately  situated.  Neither  should  any  other  branches  be 
taught  in  the  common  schools  but  English  (no  foreign  lan- 
guages on  any  account),  writing,  reading,  arithmetic,  elements 
of  geometry,  geography,  history,  morality  and  manners.  This 
is  quite  sufficient  for  all  ordinary  purposes,  and  will  take  from 
the  age  of  seven  to  that  of  fifteen  to  acquire. 

It  would  also  be  much  better,  if  all  schools  were  placed  under 
the  control  and  supervision  of  the  State,  particularly  the  high 
schools,  polytechnic  schools  and  the  universities,  suppressing 
the  money-seeking,  inferior  establishments  flourishing  at 
present.  Religion,  as  a  confession  and  in  a  sectarian  sense,  is 
excluded  from  the  public  schools  by  law;  and  a  wise  law  it  is, 


126  EDUCATION. 

because  the  great  variety  of  faiths,  the  different  modes  of 
practicing  them,  and  the  still  wider  difference  between  our  so 
much  vaunted  Christian  creeds  themselves,  as  well  as  the 
strong  Hebrew  element,  make  it  imperative  to  keep  the  schools 
free  from  these  heterogeneous  influences  in  order  to  prevent 
discord  and  troubles  of  all  sorts  and  to  preserve  complete 
harmony  among  the  pupils,  who  thus  meet  on  perfectly  neutral 
ground  in  the  common  sphere  of  education,  free  to  all.  On 
the  other  hand,  since  there  are  no  religious  classes  given  in 
our  schools,  something  ought  to  be  substituted  in  their  place, 
such  as  a  semi- weekly  or  weekly  hour  of  instruction  in  morality, 
good  conduct  at  home  and  in  public,  and  above  all,  what  we 
are  sadly  in  need  of,  urbanity  and  good  -manners. 

The  religious  instruction  imparted  to  our  children  at  home, 
in  church  and  in  the  Sunday  schools  is  more  than  sufficient. 
Any  creed,  sect  or  congregation  that  seeks  to  pervert  the 
existing  conditions  by  endeavoring  to  introduce  sectarian 
teachings  in  our  public  schools,  or  claims  subsidies  and 
support  from  the  public  funds  on  any  pretext  whatsoever, 
becomes  a  danger  to  the  welfare  and  good  harmony  among 
the  people.  There  are  too  many  examples  in  the  history 
of  schools  and  education  to  allow  the  least  doubt  on  this  im- 
portant topic. 

In  most  of  the  public  schools,  women,  a  great  number  of 
them  in  their  teens  themselves,  are  employed  as  teachers.  This 
is  very  well  for  the  smaller  children  and  even  for  the  girls,  for 
whose  guidance  through  seven  or  eight  years  of  teaching 
women  of  a  certain  age  will  answer  very  well  in  all  grades, 
provided  they  have  the  good  fortune  of  possessing  the 
necessary  standard  ;  but  boys  over  the  age  of  ten  ought  by  all 
means  to  be  under  the  strong  and  more  awe-inspiring  control 
of  male  teachers.  The  public  school-teachers  are  generally 
well  paid  and  cannot  complain  of  lack  of  vacations,  since  the 
summer  and  winter  closing  period,  the  tri-monthly  week  of 
rest,  and  the  weekly  Saturday  and  Sunday  recesses,  including 
the  legal  holidays,  amount  to  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
days,  whilst  the  school  hours  during  the  balance  of  two 
hundred  and  five  days  are  but  six  hours  a  day.  We  admit, 


EDUCATION.  127 

though,  that  the  government  and  tuition  of  even  a  well- 
regulated  class  of  fifty  or  more  children  during  six  hours  is 
not  an  easy  nor  very  enviable  task,  having  had  considerable 
personal  experience  in  this  line  ourself. 

The  propriety  of  having  both  boys  and  girls  mixed  together 
in  the  higher  grades  is  questionable  ;  but  opinions  differ  on 
this  subject,  as  they  do  in  many  others,  and  in  some  schools 
the  system  works  quite  well,  if  the  teacher  is  one  that  is  able 
and  competent  to  control  and  govern  those  placed  under  his 
charge.  A  weak  or  too  lenient  teacher  would  not  answer  in  a 
mixed  class. 

In  the  same  manner  in  which  we  have  in  a  previous  chapter 
preconized  the  absolute  necessity  of  making  all  public  em- 
ployees permanent,  the  higher  elective  officers  excepted,  so 
even  should  our  public  teachers  be  sure  of  their  positions  as 
long  as  they  are  physically  and  mentally  able  to  fill  them,  be 
entitled  to  promotion  in  due  time  when  vacancies  are  to  be 
filled,  and  be  pensioned  after  a  certain  period  of  service  on  half 
pay. 

The  calling  of  a  teacher  is  not  only  most  honorable,  but  one 
of  great  importance  and  responsibility.  Every  adult  knows 
that  the  time  he  spent  at  school  is  the  most  important  of  his 
life  and  forms  the  basis  of  his  future  career.  All  honor  and 
respect,  therefore,  to  our  teachers  ! 


Universal  higher  education,  such  as  our  misguided  philan- 
thropists do  not  tire  of  preaching,  would  be  a  calamity  for  the 
human  race,  because  we  are  not  all  equally  situated  in  the  way 
of  worldly  goods  and  cannot  all  trace  our  careers  and  existences 
in  harmony  with  the  higher  ideas  and  pretensions  created  by 
great  knowledge.  If  we  all  penetrate  the  mysteries  of 
philosophy,  mathematics,  the  beauties  of  Greek  and  Latin 
classics,  and  the  sublimity  of  natural  sciences,  we  should  all 
want  to  adopt  genteel  callings  ;  and  there  would  be  no  farmers, 
no  laborers,  no  artisans,  no  sailors,  no  soldiers,  no  cooks  and 
bottlewashers,  professions  that  will  ever  be  needed,  as  long  as 
mankind  exists,  in  spite  of  all  our  mechanical  contrivances  for 


128  EDUCATION. 

the  aid  and  relief  of  our  handiwork.  All  learned  professions 
are  overcrowded  nowadays ;  this  is  mostly  due  to  too  much 
education,  that  renders  the  masses  unfit  for  manual  labor,  and 
ever  aspiring  to  a  way  of  living  that  is  unfortunately  not 
within  their  reach. 

An  immense  number  of  persons,  who  in  former  times  worked 
honestly  and  contentedly  with  their  hands,  as  their  fathers  had 
done  for  ages  before  them  without  complaining,  because  they 
knew  no  better,  are  now  educated  to  work  only  with  their 
brains.  This  would  apparently  tend  to  a  general  leveling  of 
the  different  social  grades  of  society,  were  it  not  for  the  insur- 
mountable conflicts  of  character  and  abilities.  The  son  of  the 
artisan  wants  to  be  a  lawyer,  the  son  of  the  lawyer  a  banker, 
the  son  of  the  banker  President  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  and  so  on,  with  everlasting  ambitions  and  preten- 
sions. We  have  an  over-abundance  of  clerks,  half-educated 
teachers,  any  number  of  graduates  from  business  colleges, 
academies  and  universities,  that  swell  the  ranks  of  genteel  but 
unprofitable  professions,  instead  of  plenty  of  good  farmhands, 
bricklayers,  carpenters,  cabinetmakers,  blacksmiths,  bakers 
and  other  useful  artisans,  who  can  always  help  themselves  in 
some  way  or  other  when  they  happen  to  be  out  of  work.  It 
cannot  be  denied  that  the  years  spent  in  higher  intellectual 
education  unfit  most  men  for  manual  labor  and  prevent  them 
from  earning  their  bread  by  their  hands.  None  of  the  graduates 
of  colleges  and  universities  can  dig  with  the  spade,  as  their 
fathers  did  ;  they  are  unfit  to  be  anything  else  but  what  they 
graduated  for,  and  starvation,  or  at  least  privation,  is  the  sad 
lot  of  many.  In  former  times  the  number  of  scholars  was 
small,  and  the  universities  conferred  on  them  the  degree  oi 
fellowship,  thus  becoming  responsible  for  the  welfare  of  the 
graduates  for  some  time  at  least ;  but  this  practice  has  become 
obsolete  with  the  increase  in  the  numbers  of  the  students;  they 
must  now  look  out  for  themselves. 

A  higher  standard  of  learning  and  consequently  more  years 
of  hard  study  should  be  required  of  the  candidates  for  university 
honors,  and  no  lawyers,  physicians,  chemists,  druggists,  etc.,  be 
permitted  to  practice  their  calling,  unless  honorably  passed  by  a 
board  of  examiners  appointed  by  the  Government.  It  is  all 


EDUCATION.  129 

nonsense  to  presume  that  the  law  can  be  studied  as  it  should 
be,  by  being  messenger  boy,  clerk  or  assistant  in  somebody's 
law  office,  and  that  a  genuine,  competent,  honoraole  lawyer 
can  be  formed  in  this  manner. 


Lucky  are  those  who  can  obtain  a  so-called  ' '  classical  edu- 
cation," comprising  a  thorough  study  of  the  Greek  and  Latin 
languages,  especially  the  latter,  which  forms  the  root  of  the 
principal  modern  languages,  and  derivatives  from  which  are 
used  for  most  scientific  terms  and  for  the  higher  conceptions. 
The  effects  of  a  classical  education  follow  the  owner  to  his 
grave ;  it  throws  a  halo  of  superiority  and  refinement  around 
him,  which  will  prevail  even  after  he  may  have  sunk  into  the 
lowest  depths  of  depravity.  This  leads  us  to  the  subject 
of  languages.  Ancient  idioms  have  become  superfluous, 
though  their  beauty  as  compared  with  our  modern  tongues 
will  always  prevail.  The  latter  are  mongrel  mixtures  brought 
about  after  the  dissolution  of  the  Roman  Empire  ;  but  in 
spite  of  so  many  centuries  their  Latin  origin  has  not  been 
entirely  effaced.  Italian,  beautiful  as  this  language  undoubt- 
edly is,  stands  far  below  Spanish,  the  purest,  simplest  and 
yet  richest  in  synonyms  of  all  our  modern  languages.  Opin- 
ions may  differ  as  to  the  relative  beauties  and  merits  of 
Spanish  and  Italian,  but  we  base  our  preference  for  the 
incomparable  Castilian  tongue  on  the  following  facts :  Span- 
ish is  composed  of  words  partly  derived  from  the  Phoenician, 
Greek,  Gothic  and  Arabic,  on  account  of  the  different  inva- 
sions and  colonies  in  Spain  ;  but  it  abounds  principally  in 
i,atin  words,  a  great  many  remaining  unadulterated  to  this 
<iay.  The  conjugations  of  the  verbs,  too,  have  retained  most 
of  the  original  terminations  and  render  the  use  of  personal 
pronouns  superfluous.  This  is  due  to  a  Roman  occupation  of 
Spain  for  some  six  hundred  years,  the  first  Roman  army 
having  appeared  there  in  the  year  216  B.  c.,  the  Goths  com- 
ing in  turn  in  416  A.  D.  The  Romans  finally  lost  their 
remaining  possessions  at  the  commencement  of  the  seventh 
century,  and  so  their  occupation  extends  to  over  eight  hundred 


130  EDUCATION. 

years.  No  wonder  that  the  unique  and  splendid  Latin  lan- 
guage should  predominate  in  the  modern  Spanish  to  such  an 
extent.  At  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  the  Latin  lan- 
guage became  adulterated  through  the  conquest  by  the  Goths, 
as  the  conquered  nation  was  compelled  to  learn  the  uncouth 
language  of  the  conquerors,  and  the  latter  acquired  part  of 
that  spoken  by  the  defeated.  The  Goths  could  not  master 
the  declension  of  Latin  nouns,  and  substituted  prepositions  to 
the  terminations  of  the  cases.  They  acquired  mastery  of  the 
Latin  conjugations  of  verbs,  but  found  it  expedient  to  use 
an  auxiliary  verb  for  the  passive  participles.  When  the 
Arabs  took  possession  of  the  southern  portion  of  Spain  in  711 
A.  D.  ,  and  brought  with  them  the  highest  civilization  known 
in  those  barbaric  times,  culture,  refinement,  arts  and  sciences, 
many  Arabian  words  were  introduced  into  the  Spanish  and 
can  be  easily  recognized.  In  a  previous  chapter  we  have 
already  mentioned  that  famous  monarch,  King  Alfonso  the 
Wise,  who  contributed  more  than  any  other  monarch  to  the 
splendid  formation  and  subsequent  perfection  of  the  Spanish 
language.  Literary  and  poetical  works  were  written  in  Spain 
from  centuries  ago  to  the  present  day,  unsurpassed  by  those 
of  any  other  country.  The  language,  especially  the  orthog- 
raphy, has  been  simplified  from  time  to  time  by  the  decrees 
of  the  Spanish  Academy  of  Sciences  founded  centuries  ago  ; 
and  there  is  not  one  single  letter  in  the  language  of  Lope 
de  Vega  and  Emilio  Castelar,  that  is  not  necessary  and  unpro- 
nounced,  which  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  any  other  lan- 
guage in  existence,  to  wit  only  the  English  abnormitv  of 
confused,  arbitrary  words  and  capricious  pronunciation,  and 
the  abundance  of  silent  letters  and  of  diphthongs  in  the  other- 
wise beautiful  and  brilliant  French  language.  German  comes 
nearest  to  Spanish  in  richness  of  words  and  in  the  manner  of 
pronunciation  ;  but  there  are  too  many  double  and  superfluous 
letters  that  need  rooting  out. 

A  necessity  for  a  universal  language  for  civilized  nations  in 
their  intercourse  with  each  other  appears  to  have  sprung  up, 
and  it  would  undoubtedly  be  very  useful  and  practical  to 
adopt  one.  A  German  priest  invented  the  queer  but  novel 
idiom  called  "  Volapiik,"  and  recommended  it  as  the  universal 


EDUCATION.  131 

language.  But  why  increase  the  many  Babylonian  tongues 
now  in  existence,  when  we  already  have  one  so  perfect,  rich, 
beautiful  and  yet  so  simple  in  construction  and  grammar  ? 
The  Spanish  language,  already  spoken  by  some  sixty  millions 
of  people,  ought  to  be  taught  in  the  schools  of  every  country, 
in  addition  to  the  native  tongue,  to  serve  as  a  medium  of  com- 
munication between  the  nations,  and  the  whole  abstract  ques- 
tion would  thus  be  practically  solved  at  once. 


A  strong  and  necessary  move  has  been  made  lately  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country  against  the  use  of  the  nasty  and 
pernicious  paper  cigarettes  by  boys  of  tender  age.  Nuisances  of 
minor  importance  than  cigarette-smoking  are  abated  by  law, 
and  we  cannot  see  any  earthly  reason,  except  the  loss  to 
manufacturers,  why  boys  and  girls  under  age  should  not  be 
prohibited  by  stringent  laws  to  smoke  cigarettes  in  the  streets 
and  anywhere  in  public,  even  if  foolish  and  apathetic  parents, 
teachers  and  guardians  will  wink  at  the  dangerous  habit  and 
countenance  it  at  home.  By  this  restriction  a  positive  benefit 
would  be  conferred  on  our  young  people.  The  smoking  of 
the  paper  covering  the  tobacco,  seldom  of  pure  quality,  and 
still  more  so  the  inhaling  of  the  paper-smoke  into  the  youthful, 
tender  lungs,  will  in  a  short  time  seriously  impair  the  consti- 
*ution  of  the  youngsters,  produce  nervousness  and  frequently 
result  in  pulmonary  diseases  and  premature  death.  This 
ought  to  be  sufficient  reason  for  enacting  the  corresponding 
laws  throughout  the  country  in  the  same  manner  in  which 
the  sale  of  wines  and  liquors  to  minors  is  forbidden,  or 
supposed  to  be  forbidden  ;  but  the  great  trouble  is,  that  our 
laws  are  not  properly  enforced.  In  fines  of  this  nature  alone 
the  Government  could  derive  a  very  respectable  revenue. 

Children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  should  not  be  allowed 
to  be  out  on  the  streets  after  eight  o'clock,  except  in  the 
company  and  under  the  protection  of  grown  persons ;  nor 
should  such  children  be  permitted  to  visit  any  theater  or 
other  places  of  amusement,  without  being  accompanied  by 
parents,  guardians  or  friends.  Neither  this  regulation,  nor 


132  EDUCATION. 


the  prohibition  of  cigarette-smoking,  would  be  any  more  an 
encroachment  on  personal  liberty  than  the  prohibition  to 
purchase  liquor  in  saloons,  etc.  Such  salutary  rules  would 
simply  benefit  the  parties  for  whom  laid  down. 

The  Superior  Council  of  Zurich  in  Switzerland,  a  beautiful 
city  of  over  90,000  inhabitants,  the  suburbs  included,  and 
famous  the  world  over  for  its  educational  institutions,  has  just 
passed  an  ordinance  forbidding  children  under  fifteen  years  of 
age  to  circulate  on  the  streets  and  public  squares  after  sunset, 
unless  accompanied  by  grown  persons,  and  their  parents  or 
guardians  are  held  responsible  for  the  observance  of  this 
ordinance. 


VI.  RELIGION. 

WHAT  the  public  and  private  schools  are  for  secular  educa- 
tion, the  churches  and  Sunday  schools  are  expected  to 
accomplish  for  the  spiritual  and  moral  education  of  the  people. 
It  is  a  sad  sign  of  the  imbecility  of  man,  that  after  so  many 
thousands  of  years  of  experimenting  in  doctrines,  dogma,  con- 
fessions of  faith  in  public  and  in  private,  theses,  polemics 
discussions,  wars  and  endless  fighting  on  religious  pretexts,  we, 
the  presumed  enlightened  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
terrestrial  globe,  should  not  have  come  as  yet  to  a  final 
conclusion  on  the  subject  of  religion,  so  as  to  have  but  one 
deity,  one  creed,  one  ritual  of  church  service,  one  catechism, 
and  uniformity  at  least  in  the  outer  phases  of  adoration. 

By  the  side  of  the  several  powerful  religious  denominations 
that  prevail  in  these  United  States  of  North  America  we  find  an 
unusually  large  number  of  confessional  sects,  each  pretending 
to  possess  the  only  real  road  to  salvation,  each  striving  to  exist 
clerically  and  financially  as  an  independent  body  with  more  or 
less  costly  church  edifices  and  salaried  ministers  of  the  faith. 
What  folly  and  what  a  waste  of  money  !  If  centralization  in 
State  affairs  is  conducive  to  good  and  powerful  government, 
uniformity  of  religion  would  also  give  the  churches  more 
influence  for  the  real  good  of  mankind.  But,  unfortunately, 
new  sects  spring  up  every  day  and  create  a  craze  and  confusion 
in  religious  affairs,  that  only  comes  to  confirm  Edison's 
' l  bon  mot"  of  this  country  rapidly  becoming  an  insane  asylum 
full  of  crazy  people.  This  state  of  religious  affairs  we  have 
partly  inherited  from  our  English  ancestors,  whose  persecution 
of  the  Puritans  drove  these  intolerant,  over-austere  people  to 
the  American  colonies,  and  to  their  spread  and  narrow-minded 
doctrines  are  we  greatly  indebted  for  some  of  the  evils  now 
afflicting  the  body  politic,  because  the  Puritans  have  always 
endeavored  to  influence  the  laws  and  mix  in  matters  entirely 
foreign  to  true  religion.  Not  satisfied  with  their  own  austerity 


134  RELIGION. 

and  blind,  intolerant  bigotry,  they  want  to  coerce  all  others  to 
their  own  way  of  practicing  the  faith,  in  striking  contrast  with 
the  teachings  and  persuasive  methods  of  Him  whose  precepts 
they  pretend  to  follow. 

The  writer  finds  it  but  proper  here  to  state  that,  at  the  early 
age  of  fifteen,  strictly  brought  up  in  the  tenets  of  the  church 
to  which  he  belongs  by  birth  and  baptism,  in  consequence  of 
advanced  studies,  uninfluenced  by  any  living  person,  or  by 
any  anti-religious  writings,  which  he  had  never  seen  at  that 
time,  discovered  the  true  light  in  his  own  heart  and  framed 
for  himself  a  religious  creed,  which,  if  made  known  to  the 
public,  would  probably  attract  more  proselytes  that  Martin 
Luther,  Jean  Calvin  and  Ulric  Zwingli,  who  certainly  created 
an  immense  stir  by  their  doctrines  in  their  time  and  became 
the  fathers  of  Protestantism.  In  consequence  of  this  singular 
spontaneous  dawning  of  light  in  our  own  heart,  a  light  that 
has  ever  since  been  burning  brightly  and  will  only  be 
extinguished  with  death,  we  are  enabled  to  look  upon  all 
religious  creeds,  confessions  and  sects  with  absolute  impartial- 
ity. Neither  do  we  propose  in  this  work  any  analysis,  dis- 
section or  criticism  of  any  of  the  different  religions  ;  far  from 
such  a  course,  our  object  is  only  to  point  out  the  defects  and 
anomalies  at  present  prevailing  in  this  country  of  the  Lord, 
and  to  show  the  dangers  besetting  us  in  a  political  and  social 
sense. 

A  brief  list  of  the  principal  religious  confessions  and 
sects  that  prevail  in  the  United  States  of  North  America 
will  not  be  out  of  place  :  the  Roman  Catholic,  the  Episcopa- 
lian, or  Church  of  England,  the  Lutheran,  Evangelical, 
Reformed,  Unitarian,  Presbyterian,  Methodist,  Adventists, 
Mormon,  Spiritualistic,  Theosophical  and  a  host  of  other 
churches,  besides  the  numerous  Hebrew  congregations  that 
have  also  commenced  to  dissent  in  matters  of  orthodoxy 
after  so  many  thousand  years  of  unbroken  faith  in  the  God 
of  Shebaoth.  Some  of  these  churches  abstain  from  all  inter : 
ference  with  worldly  and  political  affairs ;  others  take  an 
active  hand  in  them,  and  thereby  draw  upon  themselves  the 
more  or  less  open  reprobation  of  the  people  in  general,  as 
well  as  the  animosity  of  the  other  creeds,  a  policy  that  will 


RELIGION.  135 

certainly  not  lead  to  that  interior  peace,  quiet  and  harmony, 
to  which  the  citizens  of  our  country  are  so  justly  entitled, 
were  it  only  for  the  great  boon  of  liberty  of  conscience  and 
exercise  of  religion  guaranteed  by  our  Constitution.  As  it  is, 
the  spread  of  insignificant  sects  and  the  general  disorder 
surrounding  religion  at  the  present  time  in  our  country  have 
become  not  only  annoying  to  the  patriotic  and  sensible  portion 
of  the  people,  but  they  are  also  a  positive  danger  to  the 
public  welfare.  In  consideration  of  the  very  liberty  and 
independence  guaranteed  to  the  different  churches  by  the 
fundamental  charter,  these  same  churches  ought  by  rights  to 
endeavor  by  all  means  in  their  power  to  preserve  the  utmost 
harmony  among  each  other  and  among  the  people.  The  most 
sensible  and  quiet  of  all,  those  who  neither  interfere  with 
other  creeds,  nor  endeavor  to  make  proselytes  by  conversion, 
are  the  Jews  ;  neither  have  they  any  particularly  meddlesome 
or  influential  ministers  of  the  faith  ;  the  rabbi  and  cantor 
have  but  little  to  say  inside  of  the  synagogue  and  much  less 
outside  of  it  ;  this  is  a  well-known  fact,  though  perhaps 
seldom  referred  to. 

The  Protestants  complain  of  the  spread,  encroachments  and 
power  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
North  America.  No  wonder !  This  is  the  oldest  of  the 
Christian  confessions,  having  existed  as  such  for  nearly  sixteen 
hundred  years  and  presenting  one  solid,  united  front  under  the 
sovereign  dominion  of  the  Curia  in  Rome,  to  whom  are 
subject  the  archbishops,  bishops,  curates,  vicars  and  clergy- 
men of  all  ranks  and  orders,  secular  as  well  as  monastic. 
This  formidable,  solid,  united  body  is  still  further  strengthened 
by  the  militant  order  of  San  Ignacio  de  Loyola,  the  most 
powerful  and  best-organized  society  or  combination  of  men 
the  world  has  ever  seen.  San  Ignacio  de  Loyola  on  his  death- 
bed left  his  disciples  as  a  legacy  "the  whole  globe,"  and  the 
Society  of  Jesus  was  mighty  near  at  one  time  to  taking  pos- 
session of  that  vast  inheritance,  had  it  not  been  for  their 
excessive  greed  and  immoderate  pretensions,  that  compelled 
nearly  every  government  in  Europe  to  resort  to  their  expulsion 
and  the  confiscation  of  their  immense  real  wealth.  They 
were  not  even  spared  the  papal  bans,  though  afterwards 


136  RELIGION. 

restored  to  the  bosom  of  the  church.  Neither  must  it  be 
believed  that  the  Society  of  Jesus  has  lost  most  of  its  power 
and  influence.  Far  from  it ;  they  have  become  more  prudent 
and  circumspect,  that  is  all.  Under  such  auspices  and  with 
its  perfect  organization,  the  fruit  of  sixteen  centuries,  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  has  naturally  preserved  its  superiority 
over  all  other  Christian  denominations  that  sprung  from  it 
at  various  periods;  and  its  head  at  Rome,  though  deprived  by 
the  policy  of  united  Italy  of  his  worldly  government,  is  still 
treated  as  a  sovereign  prince  by  the  Catholic  and  most  of  the 
Protestant  countries.  But  it  is  not  alone  the  unity  of  the 
Catholic  Church  that  constitutes  its  great  strength.  In  this 
age  of  mammon,  when  gold  is  the  prime  factor  and  archi- 
medean  lever  of  the  world,  the  Catholic  Church  has  kept  a 
shrewd  eye  on  its  finances,  and  by  a  careful  and  clever  system 
of  preserving  and  acquiring  real  and  personal  wealth,  it  has 
again  placed  itself  on  that  high  plane  of  influence  and 
power,  the  attainment  of  which  has  ever  distinguished  the 
pillars  and  lights  of  the  faith  from  its  first  conception  as  an 
organized  body. 

On  the  other  hand,  whilst  we  see  the  Hebrews  pursue  their 
comparatively  calm  and  even  way  in  this  country,  where  there 
is  no  oppression,  no  pillage,  no  contumely  of  this  ancient  race, 
so  full  of  physical  vitality  and  intellectual  gifts,  we  are  grieved 
to  witness  the  dubious  proceedings  of  the  Protestant  churches, 
who  still  waste  their  time  and  energies  in  useless  wrangling  and 
punctilious  disputations  on  matters  of  faith  that  ought  to  have 
been  definitely  settled  half  a  century  ago  and  have  disappeared 
from  the  field  of  pending  questions.  You  complain  of  the 
power  and  penetration  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  North  America,  and  yet,  fully  knowing  the 
causes  of  that  strength  and  the  progressive  propensities  of  that 
church,  you  persist  in  your  unhappy  dissensions  in  your 
divided  larger  and  small  bodies,  justly  entitled  to  the  name  of 
' '  sects, ' '  because  they  are  but  sections.  You  mix  in  politics 
just  as  much  and  more  so  than  the  Church  of  Rome.  You 
interfere  with  the  reasonable  and  decent  enjoyment  and  recre- 
ation of  the  poor  toiling  masses  on  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord, 
set  apart  by  divine  and  human  law  for  rest  and  refreshment 


RELIGION.  137 

after  six  days  of  labor,  and  not  for  intolerance,  stupid 
bigotry  and  often  hypocritical  Phariseean  censure  of  those 
who  differ  from  you  in  religious  opinions.  This  has  become  a 
regular  curse  in  our  country.  Religious  liberty,  indeed ! 
There  is  very  little  of  it  left,  and  that  little  is  one-sided.  Let  the 
Protestants  unite,  combine,  organize  themselves  after  agreeing 
on  a  uniform  and  reasonable  confession  of  faith,  which  it 
would  be  so  easy  a  matter  to  accomplish,  and  they  will  present 
an  even  broader  and  more  solid  front  than  the  Roman 
Catholics.  Here  lies  the  whole  secret !  Bear  in  mind  the 
national  motto,  "  E  pluribus  unum"  and  remember  that  it 
applies  not  only  to  political  strength,  but  to  better  mutual 
support  in  all  matters. 

The  Protestants  here  are  continually  building  houses  of 
worship,  selling  others  and  mortgaging  most  of  them.  They  do 
not  have  the  necessary  stability  like  the  Church  of  England, 
which  therefore  wields  considerable  power,  notwithstanding 
the  fierce  attacks  to  which  it  has  been  exposed  of  late  years. 

The  Church  of  England  is  respectable,  and  its  minsters  are  of 
a  far  more  honorable  and  estimable  class  than  ours.  Hypoc- 
risy is  less  prevalent  there,  and  the  lives  of  the  clergy  are  more 
free  from  the  many  defects  by  which  the  American  clergy- 
man seems  to  be  afflicted.  This  is  owing  in  a  very  great 
measure  to  the  loose  and  arbitrary  manner  in  which  the 
appointments  of  ministers  of  the  gospel  are  made  in  our 
country.  Hardly  any  qualifications  are  required  to  mount 
the  pulpit  :  any  cranky  fool  able  to  impose  on  the  bigoted 
and  credulous,  especially  in  smaller  towns  and  villages,  is 
eligible  to  the  sacred  office ;  and  thus  is  it  that  there  are  so 
many  black  sheep  in  the  fold  and  that  the  instances  of  the  rev- 
erend brother  having  "  fallen  from  grace  "  are  of  almost  daily 
occurrence. 

No  man  should  be  permitted  to  take  holy  orders  who  has 
not  passed  a  regular  course  of  many  years  in  a  university 
or  regular  seminary,  to  fit  him  for  his  sacred  calling,  and 
only  after  a  public,  satisfactory  examination.  He  should 
also  be  at  least  thirty  years  old  to  be  placed  in  sole  charge 
of  a  congregation.  The  loose  custom  introduced  of  late,  of 
some  of  our  divines  sporting  mustaches  only,  should  be 


138  RELIGION. 

discountenanced.  Somehow  a  man  wearing  nothing  but  a 
mustache  or  a  goatee,  or  both,  looks  not  at  all  like  a  holy 
man ;  his  appearance  is  decidedly  profane,  whilst  a  clean- 
shaven face,  or  a  full  beard  and  mustache  like  the  Saviour's, 
tends  to  give  the  ecclesiastical  wearer  of  it  an  air  of  dignity 
if  not  solemnity. 

No  services,  processions,  preaching,  or  anything  of  a 
religious  nature  should  be  tolerated  on  the  streets  and  squares 
on  any  account  and  under  any  circumstances.  Sectarian 
performances  in  public  are  offensive  to  many  that  profess  a 
different  creed,  and  are  apt  to  throw  contempt  on  the  exhibi- 
tors, like  for  instance  the  roaring  dervishes  preaching  to  a  set 
of  fools  at  street  corners  on  Sundays  and  the  grotesque  antics 
of  the  so-called  Salvation  Army. 

In  England,  where  the  people  do  not  seem  to  be  satisfied 
with  the  vast  quantity  of  religion  supplied  to  them  by  the 
established  church,  the  free  churches  of  other  confessions  and 
the  Catholic  Church,  the  Salvation  Army  has  a  large  and 
profitable  field.  We  do  not  pretend  to  criticise  this  anoma- 
lous congregation  of  zealous  believers  in  military  uniform 
and  bearing  military  titles  from  field,  marshal  down  to  corpo- 
ral, borne  by  both  sexes,  and  we  have  no  doubt  they  do  a 
great  deal  of  good  in  their  way;  but  it  is  an  intolerable 
nuisance  that  they  should  parade  the  streets  in  the  day  and 
night  time,  carrying  the  national  emblem  and  regaling  the 
ears  of  the  astonished  passer-by  with  a  cacophony  of  detest- 
able music  and  monotonous  singing  of  hymns.  This  is 
simply  making  a  farce  of  religion  and  should  be  abolished  by 
law,  as  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  do  in  continental 
Kurope.  Switzerland  even  went  so  far  as  to  expel  the  Salva- 
tionists from  her  territory,  because  the  disturbances  created  by 
them  and  the  indignant  people  on  the  public  streets  and 
squares  became  so  frequent  that  such  stringent  measures 
became  necessary.  The  inhabitants  of  Switzerland  are  very 
sensible,  practical  people  and  will  not  countenance  anything 
liable  to  cause  new  religious  troubles,  after  all  she  has  had  to 
pass  through  in  this  respect  for  centuries,  when  the  struggle 
between  Catholics,  Calvinists  and  Zwingliites  was  raging  so 
fiercely.  Switzerland  is  a  poor  field  for  humbug ;  on  the 


RELIGION.  139 

other  hand  her  territory  is  open  to  the  refugees  of  all  nations, 
who  find  a  hospitable  and  generous  asylum  in  her  cities, 
towns  and  villages,  provided  they  behave  themselves  and 
observe  the  wise  and  just  laws  of  that  splendid  little  country. 
Obnoxious  persons  are  expelled  by  the  authorities,  and  little 
mercy  is  shown  to  anarchists  who  come  to  disturb  the  public 
peace  by  word,  speech  and  acts. 


We  have  already  alluded  to  the  American  missionaries 
going  abroad  for  the  purpose  of  making  conversions  to 
Christianity  in  partibus  infidelium  (in  the  land  of  the  infidel) 
and  to  the  absurdity  of  such  expeditions,  when  not  only  our 
national  written  and  unwritten  doctrines  prescribe  to  us  the 
necessity  and  wise  policy  of  leaving  other  nations  in  the 
peaceable  enjoyment  of  their  lands,  customs  and  religions, 
but  when  there  is  such  a  vast  field  for  missionary  labor  in  our 
own  midst,  especially  in  the  overcrowed  large  cities.  Most  of 
these  so-called  missionaries  are  attracted  to  their  singular 
calling  by  the  novelty  of  travel  abroad,  the  desire  to  study 
customs  and  languages,  to  open  commercial  relations  and  also 
for  the  sake  of  their  emoluments  ;  the  missionary  work  in 
many  cases  is  but  the  pretext.  It  is  a  great  pity  for  the 
immense  sums  expended  yearly  for  missionary  purposes  and 
the  printing  of  bibles  and  tracts,  for  which  nothing  is  reaped 
in  return  but  the  illusoty  glory  of  having  converted  a  few 
heathens  and  Mohammedans  to  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ. 
If  the  Lord  had  deemed  it  proper,  in  His  infinite  wisdom,  that 
the  seven  or  eight  hundred  millions  of  Chinese,  Hindoos,  Mo- 
hammedans, negroes,  etc.,  should  become  followers  of  our  own 
faith,  He  would  have  brought  it  about  in  a  more  expedi- 
tious manner  than  by  the  aid  of  our  missionaries  or  of  an}' 
other  missionaries.  The  Christian  religion,  the  way  it  is 
handled  by  these  people,  has  rooted  out  the  original  popu- 
lation of  many  a  region,  to  wit,  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  where 
a  population  of  three  hundred  thousand  strong  and  healthy 
aborigines  has  been  reduced  in  fifty  years  to  a  sad  remnant  of 
forty  thousand  rachitic  and  feeble  beings,  though  they  are  the 
best  natured  of  people.  The  Jesuit  fathers,  who  first  went 


140  RELIGION. 

abroad  as  missionaries  for  the  Catholic  Church,  proceeded  in  an 
entirely  different  manner  ;  they  were  earnest  in  their  Christian 
efforts ;  they  did  not  confine  themselves  to  orthock>xy  and 
religious  instruction,  but  they  really  civilized  the  heathen, 
taught  him  to  read,  write  and  work  a  trade,  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil,  the  raising  of  cattle,  and  thus  became  real  bene- 
factors for  those  poor,  innocent  people.  Many  Jesuit  mis- 
sionaries suffered  martyrdom  after  undergoing  unheard-of 
hardships,  privations  and  other  calamities.  There  was  some- 
thing admirable  and  heroic  in  the  sacrifices  made  by  those 
fathers  compared  to  which  the  exploits  of  our  present 
missionaries  seem  ridiculous. 

There  are  also  quite  a  number  of  Chinese  missions  in  this 
country  supported  by  anonymous  contributors,  like  the  sup- 
porters of  the  Salvation  Army.  These  Chinese  missions 
receive  adults  and  children  of  the  wily  Mongolian  hosts  and 
endeavor  to  bring  them  over  to  our  Christian  doctrines.  In 
some  cases  they  are  successful,  but  the  great  majority  of 
proselytes  only  visit  the  missions  in  order  to  learn  to  read  and 
write  English,  get  board  and  lodging,  clothing,  etc.,  for  the 
time  being.  You  might  just  as  well  go  to  the  top  of  Mount 
Blias  and  endeavor  to  blow  against  a  northwesterly  gale,  as 
try  to  convert  a  Chinese,  male  or  female,  to  a  creed  which  they 
abhor  and  despise  as  they  do  the  white  and  black  races. 
They  think  theirs  is  the  true  religion  and  their  civilization, 
manners  and  customs  superior  to  ours,  and  for  all  we  know 
they  may  be  right.  The  white  man  pretends  to  be  of  higher 
value  than  all  the  other  four  races,  simply  because  his  skin 
is  not  colored  ;  very  often  his  liver  is  white  too.  Where  is  the 
brotherhood  of  man,  the  equality  of  the  races  created  by  the 
Lord? 

Regarding  the  missionaries  sallying  forth  from  these  United 
States,  we  repeat  that  the  Government  should  make  it  known 
unto  them,  that  they  will  not  be  protected  as  such  if  they  get 
themselves  into  trouble  in  foreign  countries  in  consequence  of 
their  intrusive  religious  interference,  but  only  as  simple 
American  citizens,  subject  for  the  time  being  to  the  laws  and 
regulations  of  those  countries,  whilst  they  sojourn  in  them. 
This  would  avoid  a  host  of  international  complications  and  be 


RELIGION.  141 

nothing  but  fair  and  just   to   all  concerned.     Of  course  the 
missionaries  and  their  protectors  think  differently. 


At  different  times  donations  and  bequests  by  will  have  been 
made  to  churches  by  the  generous  and  pious  ;  especially  is  this 
the  case  with  the  Catholic  Church,  which  owes  its  worldly 
possessions  in  a  great  measure  to  such  bequests.  A  lady  of 
great  wealth  some  years  ago  donated  a  very  large  sum  of  money 
for  the  erection  of  a  Roman  Catholic  university,  which  was 
a  most  munificent  act  on  her  part  and  no  doubt  most  highly 
appreciated  by  the  Catholic  clergy  and  people  in  general. 
The  erection  and  endowment  of  a  Catholic  university  for  the 
higher  instruction  of  the  candidates  for  holy  orders,  and  for 
the  cultivation  of  profane  sciences  in  general,  is  quite  proper, 
as  a  matter  of  course.  We  have  seen  the  magnificent  struc- 
ture in  the  suburb  of  the  national  capital  and  admired  its 
proportions  and  architecture  ;  but  we  cannot  help  to  disap- 
prove of  the  fact  of  that  university  having  been  placed  in 
Washington  instead  of  in  any  other  part  of  this  great  country. 
The  Government  should  not  have  allowed  it  ;  it  has  no 
business  there  if  it  does  have  an  object.  The  Federal  Dis- 
trict, as  an  entirely  sacred  and  neutral  territory,  ought  to  have 
been  kept  absolutely  free  from  any  such  institution,  religious 
or  profane,  no  matter  which.  It  was  very  poor  policy  on  the 
part  of  the  heads  of  the  church  to  fix  on  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  incomprehensible  carelessness  on  the  part  of 
the  Federal  Government  to  consent  to  it.  This  university,  or 
any  other  university,  should  be  located  in  some  quiet,  beauti- 
ful spot,  far  removed  from  the  turmoil  of  politics,  the  attrac- 
tions of  a  great  city  and  the  too  easy  intercourse  with  the 
profane  world. 

Whether  the  church  intended  to  be  near  the  seat  of  the 
National  Government  for  any  political  purpose,  with  the 
ulterior  view  of  exercising  a  certain  influence  on  Congress 
and  the  departments,  or  whether  that  university  was  merely 
located  at  Washington  to  participate  in  the  prestige  surround- 
ing even  its  mere  name,  we  are  not  able  to  say.  Religion, 
however,  must  forever  be  kept  aloof  from  politics,  and  politics 


142  RELIGION. 

from  religion  in  this  country,  if  we  do  not  want  to  see  it  go  to 
pieces ;  for  this  very  reason  religion  and  sectarian  doctrines 
cannot  be  associated  with  our  public  schools  on  an}^  account  and 
under  any  circumstances.  For  the  same  reason  it  is  improper 
that  a  Protestant  chaplain  should  be  appointed  to  offer  prayers 
in  Congress  ;  no  chaplain  is  needed  there  at  all  ;  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate  and  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives ought  to  be  fully  qualified  to  offer  prayer  at  the 
opening  and  closing  of  the  sessions,  and  these  prayers  are  sure 
to  rise  to  precisely  the  same  altitude  from  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  as  those  of  an  ordained,  professional  clergyman.  The 
Kastern  portion  of  the  Protestant  clergy  are  continually 
meddling  with  politics  and  endeavoring  to  influence  legislation 
in  State  and  Federal  affairs,  especially  the  Methodists,  who, 
true  to  their  anomalous  denomination,  never  tire  in  advocating 
prohibition  measures,  Sunday  law  ordinances  and  even  pro- 
Chinese  laws,  because  they  want  to  save  the  souls  of  half  a 
dozen  Mongolian  brethren  and  have  a  few  score  of  missiona- 
ries canvassing  in  the  celestial  empire  who  might  come  to 
grief. 

Why  do  not  these  sanctimonious  people  content  them- 
selves with  the  salvation  of  their  own  souls  and  receive 
into  the  bosom  of  their  church  those  that  voluntarily  present 
themselves  for  that  high  honor,  instead  of  pretending  to 
interfere  with  the  actions  and  rights  of  their  fellow-citizens 
of  different  religious  and  political  opinions  ?  Live  and  let 
live!  Confine  yourselves  (by  "yourselves"  we  mean  every 
creed,  sect  and  denomination)  to  the  services  within  the  walls 
of  your  temples  and  other  sacred  houses  of  worship,  and 
never  lose  sight  of  that  really  Christian  spirit  of  toleration, 
forbearance  and  kindly  indulgence  so  repeatedly  preached  by 
your  Saviour  himself ! 

Provided  a  Roman  Catholic  fulfills  the  light  duty  imposed 
upon  him  to  attend  church  on  Sundays,  he  is  at  liberty  to 
visit  public  places  of  recreation,  amusement  and  instruction, 
such  as  public  libraries,  museums,  picture  galleries,  even  thea- 
ters, concerts  and  other  lighter  entertainments,  things  a  hard- 
working laborer  and  dependent  employee  cannot  do  during 
work  days.  The  mind  is  cultivated  and  the  spirit  relaxed 


RELIGION.  143 

thereby  after  six  long  days  of  hard  toil,  and  there  cannot 
possibly  be  any  harm  in  innocent,  decent  recreation  on 
Sunday  any  more  than  on  week  days,  if  it  please  the  Puri- 
tans, who  think  they  are  still  living  in  the  times  of  Cromwell 
and  Queen  Anne.  Nobody  will  interfere  with  those  austere 
zealots  if  they  remain  at  home  and  celebrate  the  Sabbath  in 
their  own  way  by  prayer,  psalm-singing  and  fasting.  Many 
Americans,  not  Roman  Catholics,  but  just  and  sensible 
people,  are  of  the  same  opinion,  especially  those  who  have 
had  an  opportunity  to  witness  the  way  the  Sabbath  is  observed 
in  continental  Europe.  Of  late  years  England  has  relaxed 
her  Sunday  laws,  and  large  numbers  of  jolly  people  enjoy 
their  outing,  music,  etc.,  by  steamer  and  rail  in  Hampton 
Court,  Richmond  and  other  pretty  places,  and  in  the  public 
parks  of  London,  where  bands  furnish  beautiful  music. 


Ever  since  the  furnaces  for  the  incineration  of  the  dead, 
called  in  technical  language  "crematories"  have  been  invented 
in  Europe  and  subsequently  introduced  in  this  country,  a  great 
deal  has  been  written  and  spoken  for  and  against  a  system  of 
disposing  of  the  increasing  number  of  dead,  which  is  beyond 
any  doubt  superior  to  the  prosaical  process  of  burial  in  a 
coffin  in  the  earth. 

The  reasons  in  favor  of  cremation  are  many  and  well 
founded,  all  the  cant  and  sophistical  arguments  of  the  proprie- 
tors of  graveyards  and  protests  from  religious  sources  notwith- 
standing. We  have  personally  inspected  the  world-famed 
crematory  of  Milan,  in  Italy,  and  one  recently  opened  and  in 
full  blast  in  San  Mateo  County,  not  far  from  the  city  of  San 
Francisco,  and  we  find  immense  consolation  in  the  idea  of 
cremation  instead  of  the  slow  and  unsatisfactory  dissolution  in 
a  coffin,  be  it  ever  so  richly  adorned  with  silver  mountings 
and  surmounted  by  a  magnificent  headstone  of  alabaster, 
which  latter  accessory  can  be  used  for  a  pot  of  ashes  just  as 
well.  But,  leaving  aside  the  personal,  poetical  and  sentimental 
part  of  this  process,  so  generally  in  vogue  with  the  ancients, 
who  certainly  knew  somewhat  more  than  we  presumptions 
men  of  the  present  time,  there  are  very  powerful  reasons  why 


144  RELIGION. 

cremation  should  be  practiced  generally  and  not  as  an  exception. 
In  the  first  place,  the  numbers  of  deaths  increase  at  the  same 
ratio  as  the  births  ;  the  cemeteries  are  generally  quite  near  the 
towns  and  cities,  some  even  in  the  very  suburbs,  as  is  the  case 
in  San  Francisco,  where  residences  are  being  built  close  to 
their  walls.  The  ground  set  apart  for  the  cemeteries  is 
generally  level,  diggable,  and  consequently  of  value  and  might 
be  used  for  other  purposes.  Very  soon  they  are  filled  by  graves, 
and  new  tracts  have  to  be  found  for  the  purpose  ;  these,  too, 
will  fill  in  the  course  of  a  few  generations,  and  then  more  are 
required.  Twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  millions  will  be  buried 
within  the  next  sixty  or  seventy  years,  in  obedience  to  the 
inexorable  law  of  nature,  that  makes  no  exception  and  calls  for 
us  all,  when  the  hour-glass  has  run  down.  The  accumulation 
of  such  immense  numbers  of  decaying  bodies  must  necessarily 
produce  some  kind  of  emanations  through  the  thin  layer  of 
six  feet  of  earth,  even  if  grass  and  an  abundance  of  plants,  trees 
and  shrubbery  absorb  the  greater  portion  of  these  emanations; 
the  balance  will  contaminate  the  pure  air,  in  spite  of  all  that 
is  alleged  to  the  contrary.  Some  cemeteries  are  situated  on 
gentle  slopes,  others  on  the  side  of  a  mountain  ;  the  rain-water 
filtering  down  to  the  valleys  will  be  more  or  less  impure. 
Cemeteries  should  be  remote  from  human  habitations  at  the 
very  least  half  a  mile ;  the  ground  intervening  should  be 
converted  into  boulevards  and  parks. 

Now  the  process  of  cremation  has  the  following  overwhelm- 
ing advantages  :  It  is  cheaper  and  can  be  stripped  of  a  great 
deal  of  the  sad  and  heartrending  scenes  and  ceremonies  attend- 
ing a  ground  funeral ;  the  services  can  be  held  over  the  body 
at  any  church,  if  it  is  desired,  and  subsequently  at  the 
crematory,  where  a  sort  of  chapel,  or  pantheon,  is  built  for 
that  purpose  ;  there  are  no  grave-diggers,  no  spades,  no  strap, 
no  boards  required  ;  the  coffin,  which  should  be  of  the  plainest 
sort,  as  it  will  be  destroyed,  is  placed  on  a  raised  platform  in 
the  chapel;  at  a  given  signal  it  slowly  disappears  into  the 
vault  below ;  the  corpse  is  removed,  wrapped  in  a  shroud 
saturated  with  alum  and  rolled  into  the  crib  of  the  furnace, 
heated  to  such  a  degree  that  within  a  couple  of  hours,  without 
any  smoke  or  flame  whatever,  all  that  is  mortal  has  been 


RELIGION.  145 

destroyed  and  passes  as  gases  through  the  flue  high  into  the 
air,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  pounds  of  pearly  white 
ashes  remaining  at  the  bottom  of  the  crib,  which  are  handed 
to  the  family  or  friends  for  final  disposal,  at  their  option. 
A  hundred  thousand  funeral  urns  would  not  overcrowd  a 
moderate-sized  pantheon,  or  "columbarium,"  as  they  are 
called,  which  means  pigeon-house,  on  account  of  the  many 
small  recesses  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  urns. 

The  whole  process  of  cremation  is  cheap,  neat,  expeditious, 
full  of  poetry  and  almost  devoid  of  the  distressing  and  weary 
features  of  ordinary  burial ;  moreover,  the  relatives  and  friends, 
upon  beholding  the  last  resting-place  of  the  ashes  of  a  cremated 
person,  are  entirely  free  from  the  awful  thought  which  will 
penetrate  their  minds  involuntarily,  that  his  or  her  body  is 
slowly  decomposing  in  the  coffin,  and  that  at  some  time  the 
poor  bones  might  be  tossed  about  in  a  dump-cart  and  removed 
for  causes  of  the  enlargement  of  the  town,  expropriation  by 
law,  or  heartless  speculation.  The  clergy,  especially  the 
Roman  Catholic,  are  opposed  to  cremation,  as  being  contrary 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  in  flesh,  blood 
and  bone.  Their  argument  is  ill  founded  ;  the  Supreme  Being 
has  the  power  to  resurrect  the  body  from  from  two  or  three 
pounds  of  ashes  just  as  well  as  from  a  shapeless  mass  of  sad 
remains.  The  objections  raised  by  some  on  judicial  grounds, 
in  cases  of  poisoning  and  crime,  and  by  others  for  fear  of  being 
burned  alive,  have  no  serious  foundation,  because  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  respective  authorities  to  ascertain  such  facts  before  the 
bodies  are  granted  the  necessary  permit. 


There  may  be  liberty  of  conscience  in  our  blessed  country, 
because  no  man,  no  law,  no  human  power,  can  actually  exercise 
any  control  over  a  person's  conscience.  Conscience  is  the 
criticism  or  approval  of  the  thought  and  act ;  the  latter  arise 
in  the  brain,  whilst  conscience  resides  in  the  heart.  There 
may  be  license  in  religious  matters,  but  the  term  ' '  religious 
freedom ' '  cannot  properly  be  considered  to  exist,  as  long  as 
a  harmless  portion  of  our  people  are  harassed,  persecuted  and 
punished  for  the  exercise  of  their  religious  doctrines.  We 


146  RELIGION. 

refer  to  the  Mormon  sect,  who  have  settled  a  vast  and 
desolate  region  in  the  center  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  almost  inaccessible  fifty  years  ago  and  now  converted 
into  finely  cultivated  territory,  in  which,  owing  to  the  hard 
work  and  economic  talent  of  the  disciples  of  Joseph  Smith  and 
Brigham  Young,  there  is  less  want,  misery  and  privation  than 
in  any  of  the  other  Territories  and  States.  After  these  hardy 
and  meritorious  pioneers  had  created  their  gigantic  work  and  it 
became  known  that,  instead  of  the  sandy  and  stony  desert, 
there  would  be  found  a  second  Canaan,  then  came  a  rush  of 
Philistines  and  other  Gentiles  to  participate  in  the  blessings 
enjoyed  by  the  Mormons ;  and  after  a  while  they  had  to  be 
tolerated  by  these  and  even  placed  on  a  footing  of  equality. 
Alike  to  the  snake  that  bites  his  benefactor  after  warming  it  in 
his  bosom,  the  Gentiles  and  Philistines  began  to  be  aggressive, 
to  find  fault  with  the  doctrines  of  Mormonism,  their  fiscal 
arrangements,  and  particularly  with  polygamy,  not  for  any 
reasons  of  morality,  but  for  reasons  of  their  own.  Polygamy 
is,  or  was,  one  of  the  principal  tenets  of  the  Mormon  church. 
In  the  earlier  stages  of  mankind,  the  patriarchs,  afterwards 
the  Hebrews  and  many  other  distinguished  tribes,  had  a 
plurality  of  wives.  These  patriarchs  are  supposed  to  be  the 
most  ancient  and  favorite  saints  in  the  Christian  paradise, 
after  living  at  a  time  when  the  I/ord  was  said  to  have  appeared 
on  earth  in  person  repeatedly  and  to  have  given  warning  to 
the  erring  people  of  their  wrongdoings.  There  is  nothing  in 
our  original  Constitution  prohibiting  polygamy.  If  a  statute 
was  enacted  subsequently  restricting  the  number  of  wives  to 
one,  it  was  aimed  specially  at  the  Mormons  and  is  therefore 
"  special  legislation  "  and  a  wrong  perpetrated  on  these  people. 
We  are  by  no  means  in  favor  of  polygamy  ;  one  wife  is  quite 
sufficient,  and  in  many  cases  even  one  too  many ;  but  the 
Mormons  are  undoubtedly  in  their  right  as  a  religious  congre- 
gation to  adhere  to  their  original  doctrines.  I^et  the  Christians, 
who  find  fault  with  them  and  do  not  live  in  glass  houses, 
throw  the  first  stone,  which  they  did.  Why  did  they  not  stay 
away  from  Utah  altogether,  if  the  doings  of  the  Mormons  were 
not  to  their  liking  ?  Why  go  and  bring  discord  and  trouble 
into  a  community  that  had  performed  great  things  in  the  way 


RELIGION.  147 

of  settlement  and  cultivation  of  a  desert,  that  has  the  prior 
right  of  possession  and  has  done  no  harm  whatever  to  those 
who  invaded  their  territory  almost  as  enemies  ?  There  is  one 
powerful  argumentum  ad  hominem  in  favor  of  the  Mormons, 
which  we  heard  frequently  expressed  in  the  City  of  the  Saints 
of  the  lyatter  Day,  and  which  is,  that  we  Christians  practice 
polygamy  on  a  vast  and  illegitimate  scale,  compared  to  which 
simple  bigamy  is  but  a  mild  offense.  Reply,  if  you  can  !  We 
Christians  have  polygamy,  bigamy,  monogamy  and  polyandry, 
— terms  implying  a  plurality  of  wives,  two  wives,  one  wife, 
and  the  latter,  polyandry,  more  than  one  husband  for  one  wife. 
Polyandry  among  uncivilized  nations  is  rare  ;  still  there  are 
tribes  at  the  foot  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains  in  India,  where 
three  or  four  husbands,  most  frequently  brothers,  have  but 
one  common  wife  for  reasons  of  economy  and  on  account  of 
poverty. 


The  subject  of  secret  societies  does  not  properly  belong 
under  the  head  of  religion,  but  we  will  make  brief  mention 
of  these  societies  before  closing  the  present  chapter.  There  is 
not  a  country  under  the  sun  that  can  boast  of  as  many 
secret  orders,  societies  and  organizations  as  the  United  States 
of  North  America.  They  are  counted  by  the  hundreds ; 
almost  every  grown  man  belongs  to  some  one  or  more  of 
them  ;  in  fact  it  has  almost  become  a  distinction  not  to  be  a 
member  of  any  society.  Properly  speaking,  very  few  of 
these  societies  have  any  particular  reasons  for  secrecy,  for 
passwords,  grips  and  countersigns.  Most  of  them  have 
no  other  object  than  charity,  benevolence  and  also  social  inter- 
course ;  they  do  a  great  deal  of  real  good  in  their  peculiar 
way  and  relieve  the  public  in  general  of  a  considerable  share 
in  the  dispensing  of  aid  and  assistance  to  the  sick,  the  needy 
and  otherwise  unfortunate.  Many  give  sick  benefits,  weekly 
allowances,  funeral  expenses,  endowments  to  widows  and 
orphans,  etc.,  etc.,  acts  that  can  only  merit  the  applause  of 
the  well-inclined.  The  childish  habit  of  wearing  all  sorts  of 
crosses,  stars,  shields  and  badges  indicative  of  the  order  they 
belong  to  and  of  the  rank  they  may  hold  in  it,  is  no  discredit 


148  RELIGION. 

to  the  exhibitors  of  the  same  ;  but  the  public  appearance  of 
secret  societies  in  pompous  paraphernalia,  bright  and  gaudy 
uniforms,  with  plumes,  swords  and  banners,  is  of  very  doubt- 
ful taste  and  propriety,  a  fact  which  the  good  sense  of  the 
members  ought  to  point  out  to  themselves.  Yet  there  is  no 
very  great  harm  in  it.  Passing  in  review  the  secret  societies  of 
the  Yclampus  Vitus,  the  Red  Men,  the  Odd  Fellows,  the 
Free  Masons,  the  Knights  of  Labor,  of  Honor,  of  the  Golden 
Calf,  of  Pythias,  of  the  Mystic  Grove,  the  Druids,  the 
Ancient  Order  of  Architects,  the  Alien  Sons  of  the  Silver 
East  and  a  host  of  others  too  numerous  to  mention  here 
and  which  are  all  perfectly  harmless,  we  come  to  three  secret 
bodies  that  are  not  only  an  anachronism  in  a  country  like  ours, 
but  one  of  them  a  positive  danger  at  the  present  time,  and 
still  more  so  in  the  future.  This  society  is  the  natural  off- 
spring of  former  secret  political  organizations  that  have 
ceased  to  exist  as  recognized  bodies,  but  whose  germ  has  not 
been  destroyed  during  many  years  of  comparative  rest.  This 
organization  is  religious  as  well  as  political;  its  main  tenet  is 
intolerance,  and,  whether  it  be  intended  or  not,  they  originate 
hatred  and  contempt  among  our  people,  thus  further  increas- 
ing the  already  numerous  political,  social  and  economical 
problems  awaiting  solution.  The  shafts  of  this  abnormal 
organization  are  principally  directed  against  a  certain  religion 
and  against  the  foreign  element  in  general,  even  the  natural- 
ized, honorable  and  peace- abiding  citizen.  The  native-born 
population  can  boast  of  but  a  short  line  of  ancestors ;  their 
nativity  is  of  quite  recent  date  ;  it  does  not  in  most  cases  go 
back  beyond  one  or  two  generations.  Kven  the  conceited 
descendants  of  the  "Mayflower''1  and  the  successors  of 
Hendrick  Hudson  have  little  to  boast  of  in  this  respect. 
The  foreign  addition  to  the  otherwise  weak  native  population 
has  hitherto  been  of  immense  benefit  to  the  whole  country, 
bringing  skilled  artisans,  strong  hands  and  large  sums  of 
money  to  swell  the  national  wealth,  until  during  the  past 
twenty  years  or  so  the  greedy,  egotistical  and  unpatriotic 
millionaires  and  owners  of  immense  manufacturing  establish- 
ments have  thought  fit  to  import  hordes  of  ignorant  laborers 
with  their  wretched  families  from  the  cheapest  and  most 


REUGION.  149 

miserable  portions  of  Europe  and  Asia,  to  compete  for  the 
lowest  possible  wages  with  the  more  independent  laboring 
classes  already  in  the  country,  until  Congress  found  it  neces- 
sary to  interfere  and  close  the  gates  to  those  classes,  a 
measure  that  should  have  been  taken  twenty  years  ago 
already. 

It  is  entirely  wrong  on  the  part  of  the  above-mentioned 
association  to  ostracise  the  foreign  element ;  it  is  unpatriotic 
and  impolitic.  These  are  not  the  ways  and  means  to  remedy 
the  evil,  if  evil  there  be ;  the  remedy  lies  in  restrictive 
naturalization  and  limited  immigration  ;  but  that  portion  of 
the  foreign  element  which  has  become  naturalized  is  entitled 
to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  native-born  citizen, 
except  the  faculty  of  being  elected  President  of  the  United 
States,  which  is  perfectly  correct. 

Some  forty  years  ago,  in  Florida,  we  were  very  much  struck 
and  amused  by  a  friendly  debate  between  a  native-born 
American  lawyer  and  an  intelligent  jeweler  from  the  northern 
part  of  Germany,  the  latter  being  already  master  of  the  Eng- 
lish language.  The  lawyer  alleged  pre-eminence  over  the 
jeweler  by  virtue  of  his  nativity  on  American  soil ;  but  the 
latter  successfully  proved  to  him,  that  the  native  superiority 
was  illusory,  by  telling  him  simply,  that  when  he,  the  foreigner, 
came  into  this  country,  he  was  a  man  in  the  prime  of  youth, 
strong,  healthy,  in  possession  of  a  genteel  calling,  clothing 
and  a  sum  of  money  and  able  to  earn  an  honorable  living, 
whilst  the  native-born  lawyer  had  come  into  the  country  a 
helpless,  naked  baby,  requiring  a  mother  to  nurse  him  and 
parents  to  feed,  clothe  and  keep  him  up  to  the  age  of  eighteen 
years,  and  that  he  was  probably  unable  to  earn  a  dollar  before 
he  was  twenty  years  old.  The  force  of  this  logical  "  argu- 
mentum  ad  hominem"  caused  the  bystanders  to  burst  into 
hearty  laughter  at  the  expense  of  the  native-born  lawyer,  who, 
however,  was  a  gentleman  and  declared  himself  defeated. 

The  place  of  birth,  after  all,  is  a  mere  accident.  Napoleon 
the  Great  was  born  at  the  foot  of  the  stairway  of  his  father's 
house  in  Ajaccio  on  the  island  of  Corsica,  on  a  piece  of 
carpet,  and  not  everybody  has  the  means  or  pluck  of  his 
sister-in-law  Hortense,  Queen  of  Holland,  to  journey  from  The 


150  RELIGION. 

Hague  to  Paris  at  a  time  when  railroads  were  unknown,  to 
give  birth  in  France  to  the  "Man  of  Sedan,"  the  great 
emperor's  nephew. 

Too  much  circumspection,  toleration  and  friendly  feeling 
cannot  be  exercised  by  the  native-born  element  toward  the 
many  millions  of  foreigners  who  have  come  to  live  and  die  in 
this  country  and  who  have  acquired  citizenship,  be  they  Irish, 
French,  German,  Italian,  Spanish,  or  of  any  other  acceptable 
nationality.  Nothing  can  be  gained  by  open  or  covert  hostility 
to  these  people ;  after  all  their  original  nationality  is  apt  to 
disappear  completely  in  their  progeny,  who  even  lose  their 
parents'  language.  The  only  remedy  is  in  legislative  restric- 
tion ;  the  country  is  in  need  of  it ;  let  the  national  Congress 
provide. 


VII,   FINANCE. 

\  f  ATHEMATICS  may  be  an  abstract  science,  yet  it  is  the 
1V1  most  positive  of  all.  The  combination  of  figures  and 
their  intricate  relations  between  each  other  are  as  infallible  as 
the  truth  on  which  they  are  founded.  No  argument,  be  it 
ever  so  strong  and  brilliant,  can  prevail  against  the  naked 
truth  of  honest  figures.  Three  times  three  is  nine  and  will 
ever  be  so  to  the  end  of  time.  By  the  aid  of  figures  and  their 
manifold  combinations,  gradually  reduced  to  permanent  and 
absolute  rules  in  arithmetic,  geometry,  algebra  and  trigo- 
nometry, devising  man  has  been  enabled  to  calculate  the 
revolutions  not  only  of  our  little  earth,  but  also  those  of  many 
of  the  celestial  bodies  moving  in  the  infinite  firmament  millions 
of  miles  away  ;  the  distances  from  our  old  globe  ;  the  rapidity 
of  the  rays  of  light  from  the  sun  ;  the  return  of  comets,  eclipses, 
transits,  etc. ,  etc.  Mathematics  is  the  greatest  and  most  useful 
of  sciences,  dry  as  its  study  may  appear  to  the  multitude,  and 
full  of  so  many  difficulties  that  but  few  select  minds  succeed  in 
acquiring  a  perfect  knowledge  of  it.  And  yet  even  this  science 
is  perverted  by  wicked  man,  and  truthful  figures  are  used  by 
us  to  represent  lying  and  hypocritical  statements  in  almost  all 
branches  of  human  industry  and  institutions.  Thus  for 
instance  the  figure  ten  is  misused  by  the  hunter  to  indicate  the 
number  of  hares  killed  by  him  in  one  day,  when  he  really  shot 
but  three,  or  none  at  all ;  a  merchant  is  quoted  in  the  secret 
mercantile  report  as  possessing  a  capital  of  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars, when  he  is  actually  not  worth  over  twenty  thousand ;  an 
insurance  company  advertises  the  whole  country  over,  that 
its  capital  stock  is  one  million  dollars,  when  perhaps  the  whole 
of  the  stockholders  put  together  are  not  worth  over  half  a 
million  ;  a  newspaper  trumpets  over  the  State,  that  its  daily 
circulation  is  fifty-three  thousand,  and  it  really  issues  but  thirty 
thousand,  and  so  forth.  In  all  such  cases  figures  are  employed 
to  conceal  and  disguise  the  truth,  and  here  we  have  "  figures 
without  facts, ' '  instead  of  facts  and  figures. 


152  FINANCE. 

There  have  been  written  countless  books,  pamphlets  and 
newspaper  articles  about  the  financial  affairs  of  the  world  in 
general  and  those  of  the  United  States  of  North  America  in 
particular.  The  matter  they  contain  and  the  material  from 
which  they  are  gleaned  are  of  but  little  interest  to  the  public 
in  general,  because  they  are  dry  and  tedious  ;  consequently 
they  are  read  by  but  a  few  and  even  then  seldom  comprehended 
and  appreciated,  even  if  their  arguments  were  well  founded, 
and  positive  facts  and  figures  given.  It  would  be  an  easy 
matter  for  the  writer  to  compile  a  few  hundred  pages  of 
commentaries  on  the  financial  condition  of  this  country  and  to 
worry  and  fatigue  the  worthy  reader  by  dry  and  tedious  stuff, 
but  such  is  not  our  object  in  this  little  volume  ;  on  the  contrary, 
we  will  endeavor  to  be  as  clear  and  concise  as  possible  in  the 
development  of  our  views  on  such  an  all-important  subject. 

There  have  been  many  serious  financial  crises  since  the 
foundation  of  this  great  Republic,  as  far  back  as  the  time  of 
General  Jackson,  but  they  were  always  easily  overcome.  At 
the  time  of  the  Centennial  celebration  of  our  Independence 
the  finances  of  the  country  were  still  in  a  most  satisfactory 
condition,  the  national  debt  gradually  diminishing.  But  the 
brightest  period  of  all  was  that  of  President  Franklin  Pierce, 
when  the  national  Treasury  showed  a  cash  surplus  of  over 
twenty  millions  of  dollars,  for  which  there  was  no  earthly  use, 
and  that,  notwithstanding  the  low  tariff  of  import  duties  ruling 
at  the  time,  and  the  total  absence  of  internal  revenue,  which 
was  a  later  invention. 

There  were  then  in  our  national  Congress  men  of  honor  and 
trust,  inspired  with  true  patriotic  ideas  and  having  full  and 
implicit  confidence  in  that  gentlemanly  and  honorable  Presi- 
dent, Franklin  Pierce,  to  an  extent  that  seven  millions  of  dol- 
lars were  placed  at  his  disposal,  with  power  to  expend  the 
same  in  any  manner  he  might  see  fit  as  most  conducive  to  the 
public  benefit.  The  result  was  the  purchase  from  the  Repub- 
lic of  Mexico  of  the  celebrated  Mesilla  Valley,  a  portion  of 
land  projecting  into  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  and 
which  for  some  reason  had  been  allotted  to  Mexico,  when  the 
treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  was  made  between  the  two 
countries  after  the  Mexican  War.  The  sum  paid  to  the 


FINANCE.  153 

commissioners  of  President  Santa  Anna  at  Washington  was 
seven  millions.  We  recollect  that  the  Mexican  commissioner 
who  took  this  sum  of  double  eagles  to  New  Orleans  for  shipment 
to  Vera  Cruz,  being  in  serious  doubt  about  ever  getting  his  com- 
mission of  one  per  cent  from  the  close-fisted  dictator  of  Mex- 
ico, took  seventy  thousand  dollars  from  the  millions,  placed 
his  receipt  in  one  of  the  boxes,  and  shipping  the  balance  to 
Vera  Cruz  quietly  went  to  Europe  to  rest  on  his  laurels. 
Great  was  the  impotent  rage  of  Santa  Anna,  who  soon  after 
was  overthrown,  driven  from  the  country,  and  remained  an 
exile  until  his  death. 

The  causes  that  have, produced  the  present  industrial,  com-* 
mercial  and  monetary  crisis  may  be  summed  up  as  follows : 

The  powerful  syndicates  and  mighty  corporations  sprung  up 
in  consequence  and  after  the  close  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion; 
the  immense  national  debt  left  at  the  end  of  that  great  but 
fatal  struggle;  the  corruption  in  official  circles  and  the  vast 
field  for  robbery  and  plunder  left  by  the  confused  financial  con- 
dition of  the  country  at  the  same  period,  by  the  settlement  of 
war  claims,  damages,  bounties,  back  pay,  pensions  and  the 
sale  of  war  material;  the  system  of  stock  exchanges  and  the 
public  sale  at  auction  of  real  and  imaginary  stocks,  bonds  and 
other  values;  the  immense  number  of  temples  of  mammon 
called  * '  banks, ' '  which  are  weighing  so  heavily  on  all  classes 
of  the  community  except  themselves  and  their  satellites,  the 
brokers  and  usurers;  the  shameful  and  ruinous  extravagance 
in  dress  and  style  of  living  so  generally  prevailing,  and  the 
consequent  waste  of  material;  the  heavy  taxation  of  the  poor, 
as  compared  with  what  little  is  paid  by  the  wealthy;  the  wild, 
reckless,  and  often  criminal  spirit  of  speculation  that  has  taken 
possession  of  vast  numbers  of  our  people;  the  steady  drain  of 
coin  for  tickets  in  foreign  lotteries;  and  last,  but  by  no  means 
least,  the  Chinese  invasion,  which  has  caused  a  clean  loss  of 
perhaps  a  thousand  millions  of  dollars  to  our  unfortunate  and 
shiftless  country.  We  ask,  what  country  on  earth  could  have 
withstood  such  awful  odds  against  its  continued  prosperity, 
other  than  these  United  States,  without  being  utterly  bankrupt, 
a  calamity  which  is  sure  to  reach  us,  nevertheless,  at  no  remote 
period,  if  we  do  not  take  prompt  and  effectual  measures  to  close 


154  FINANCE. 

the  gap   through  which  our  national  vitality  is  flowing,  by 
radical,  wise,  and  peremptory  legislation. 

Taking  up  the  disastrous  financial  results  of  the  Chinese 
invasion, — a  class  that  never  bring  a  cent  to  this  country,  but 
always  send  and  take  away, — we  will  quote  an  extract  from 
the  statement  of  a  high  Federal  officer,  published  about  six 
months  ago  in  a  daily  paper,  and  which  has  not  generally 
become  known,  because  few  persons  read  articles  of  this  kind, 
when  they  are  being  treated  to  the  sensational,  indecent  and 
immoral  stuff  so  prevalent  in  the  papers  of  this  day.  The 
article  in  question  embraces  a  period  of  thirty  years,  when  the 
Mongolians  were  first  brought  to  our  Pacific  Coast  to  filter 
from  there  all  over  the  country. 

"  In  1860  the  census  showed  a  population  of  Chinese  in  this 
country  of  100,000;  in  1870,  213,000;  in  1880,  105,000;  and 
in  1890,  106,000.  In  these  four  decades  the  total  Chinese 
population  was  524,000,  which  would  give  an  average  of 
131,000  for  the  thirty  years.  During  these  thirty  years  the 
laborers  among  the  Chinese  have  averaged  one  dollar  a  day 
for  their  services.  Deducting  the  liberal  allowance  of  31,000 
for  the  merchants,  physicians,  women,  etc.,  etc.,  we  have 
100,000  men,  who  have  worked  continuously  for  one  dollar 
a  day,  Sundays  included,  which  they  do  not  observe.  Allowing 
them  twenty-five  cents  a  day  for  the  expense  of  each,  this 
liberal  allowance  leaves  a  net  income  of  $ 75,000  a  day,  which 
is  an  absorption  of  $2, 250,000  of  our  money  every  thirty  days, 
or  twenty-seven  millions  of  dollars  per  year.  Thus  their  net 
earnings  during  the  thirty  years  above  stated  amount  to  the 
astonishing  sum  of  eight  hundred  and  ten  millions  of  dollars, 
every  cent  of  which  has  gone  to  China,  where  all  gold  and  silver 
coin  mysteriously  disappears  after  a  while,  and  no  one  seems 
to  know  whatever  becomes  of  it.  But  this  wage-earning  is  not 
all  the  loss  we  have  suffered  ;  the  balance  of  trade  between  the 
United  States  and  China  has  been  in  favor  of  the  latter  country, 
absorbing  something  like  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  more. 
In  1892  alone  the  Celestial  Empire  absorbed  $41,825,181  of 
the  wealth  of  the  United  States. 

* '  The  foregoing  estimates  of  the  Chinese  population  of  this 
country  are  taken  from  the  official  United  States  census ;  but 


FINANCE.  155 

it  is  well  known  by  those  who  do  not  desire  to  be  blind,  like 
the  Kastern  sympathizers  with  the  "poor,  persecuted  and 
down-trodden"  heathen,  that  a  great  many  more  came  into 
the  country  than  have  ever  been  counted  on  the  official  records. 
This  clandestine  portion  has  not  been  taken  into  consideration 
in  making  the  estimates  of  moneys  sent  to  China.  The  only 
benefit  we  derive  from  the  Chinese  is  the  import  duty  charged 
on  the  goods  brought  to  this  country.  The  money  paid  to  the 
laborers  of  other  nations  coming  here  is  expended  in  building 
houses,  buying  land  and  improving  it,  and  in  purchasing  the 
production  of  American  farmers  and  manufacturers ;  con- 
sequently their  money  remains  in  the  country.  Moreover,  it 
will  never  be  known  how  much  gold  has  been  realized  by  the 
smart  Chinese  by  mining  in  the  gold  fields,  and  which  they 
have  also  taken  away.  There  are  about  one  thousand  three 
hundred  millions  of  money  in  the  United  States  at  present  in 
circulation,  and  at  the  rate  the  Chinese  absorb  our  coin,  there 
will  soon  be  but  little  left  for  our  own  use.  For  many  years 
every  Chinese  steamer  has  returned  with  hundreds  of  Chinese, 
each  one  of  them  carrying  away  on  his  person  from  ten  dollars 
to  three  thousand  dollars  in  gold." 

The  foregoing  facts  are  undeniable;  they  are  "facts  and 
figures"  to  prove  and  not  to  mislead.  The  admirers  of  the 
Mongolians  and  those  interested  financially  in  their  presence, 
will,  as  a  matter  of  course,  entertain  different  views  ;  but  they 
are  of  no  value  in  the  case  on  account  of  bias. 


We  consider  the  Exchanges  for  the  transaction  of  stock 
dealing  and  the  sale  at  auction  (it  is  nothing  else)  of  bonds, 
securities,  grain,  produce,  pork  and  other  stuff  serving 
for  purposes  of  speculation  in  public,  as  a  great  factor  in 
bringing  about  financial  troubles  and  periodical  monetary  and 
business  crises,  a  drawback  to  all  legitimate  transactions  in 
that  line  and  an  unceasing  temptation  to  restless  manipulators 
of  that  which  does  not  belong  to  them ,  which  often  does  not 
exist  and  which  they  seldom  ever  see,  besides  encouraging 
unlawful  speculation  on  the  part  of  men  who  want  to  grow 
rich  as  fast  as  possible,  regardless  of  all  consequences  to  their 


156  FINANCE. 

competitors  and  outsiders.  Not  many  years  back  everybody 
in  Chicago,  the  servant  girls  not  excepted,  bought  and  sold 
'  'pork, ' '  which  existed  only  in  their  imagination,  raised  to  fever- 
heat  by  the  vampires  connected  with  the  Exchange.  The 
pandemonium  that  reigns  in  these  pits  is  something  inde- 
scribable for  the  passive  spectator,  and  the  question  might 
in  all  honesty  be  asked,  whether  the  brokers,  who  shout 
themselves  hoarse  in  bidding,  offering  and  selling,  are 
really  human  beings  or  a  flock  of  wild  parrots  of  Brazil 
in  congress.  The  ostensible  object  of  an  Exchange  is  to 
supply  a. central  place  for  the  better  and  more  convenient 
meeting  of  merchants  that  want  to  buy  or  sell  bona-fide 
goods,  stocks  and  agricultural  products,  and  for  the  legitimate 
brokers,  who  are  intrusted  with  their  business.  These 
legitimate  transactions  can  all  be  effected  in  a  decent,  quiet 
way  ;  the  system  of  bidding  for  anything  at  auction,  which 
they  are  at  present  operating,  should  be  abolished  by  law. 
If  anybody  is  desirous  of  selling  anything  and  does  not  know 
to  whom  to  apply,  or  cannot  personally  attend  to  the  business, 
let  him  engage  the  services  of  a  legitimate  and  licensed 
broker,  whose  profession  it  is  to  find  purchasers  and  sellers 
of  merchandise  and  securities  for  a  fair  and  lawful  commis- 
sion. The  Government  should  not  allow  any  article  to  be 
sold  that  does  not  exist,  nor  have  such  imaginary  article  cried 
out  at  public  auction  in  the  so-called  Exchanges,  and  insist 
on  the  transfer  and  delivery  of  the  article  sold.  Abolish 
margins,  shorts,  bulls,  bears  and  all  the  other  outrageous 
abuses  practiced  in  those  iniquitous  establishments  and  trade 
will  be  more  regular,  honorable  and  safer  than  under  the 
present  system,  with  fewer  failures.  Remove  and  destroy  the 
opportunities  and  temptations  offered  to  business  men  in  those 
temples  of  Moloch  and  there  will  be  no  more  stock-gambling, 
no  more  defalcations,  breaches  of  trust,  imprisonment,  ruin 
and  suicide. 


Not  less  damaging  to  the  public  welfare  is  the  vast,  plethoric 
system  of  banking  at  present  so  general  in  these  United  States 
of  North  America.  These  institutions  are  very  appropriately 


FINANCE.  157 

called  "banks,"  since  so  many  are  founded  on  sand,  others 
surrounded  by  fog,  and  thousands  have  been  stranded  by 
them.  Like  an  immense  octopus  of  thousands  of  suckers 
the  banks  have  taken  possession  of  everything  worth  having. 
There  is  hardly  a  village  of  a  thousand  inhabitants  but  must 
have  its  bank.  We  know  of  one  settlement  in  California  in 
which  the  first  building  erected,  besides  a  few  board  shanties, 
was  one  of  brick  for  the  inevitable  bank  and  this  building  was 
raffled.  As  the  patient  spider  sits  in  the  center  of  its  wonder- 
fully constructed  net,  waiting  for  the  flies  that  are  sure  to  get 
entangled  in  it  and  to  become  his  prey,  so  sits  the  crafty 
banker  in  his  private  office,  bloated  with  conceit  and  vanity, 
haughty  and  insolent  to  the  poor  white  trash,  cringing  and 
abjectly  reverential  before  the  man  of  property  and  cash,  sup- 
ported by  the  minions  in  the  public  office,  who  have  more 
or  less  similar  qualifications  to  those  of  their  imperial  master. 
These  men  are  generally  well  fed,  still  better  dressed,  and  their 
work  is  of  a  kind  that  will  not  weigh  heavily  on  their  consti- 
tutions, even  if  a  small  amount  of  brains  and  some  automatic 
care  is  necessary  to  make  a  good  bank  clerk.  The  banker-in- 
chief  of  course  is  entitled  to  fat  emoluments  and  the  pay  of 
cashier,  tellers  and  clerks  is  by  no  means  insignificant.  It  fre- 
quently happens,  that  even  these  liberal  salaries  for  a  few  hours 
of  very  easy  and  clean  work,  are  not  sufficient  to  gratify  the 
desires  and  to  come  up  to  the  pretensions  of  these  gentlemen. 
In  that  case  their  fingers  are  stretched  a  point,  and  if  the 
required  additional  sums  cannot  be  procured  by  clever  manipu- 
lation of  the  accounts,  a  number  of  bags  are  confiscated,  or 
a  few  checks  forged,  which  answers  the  same  purpose. 
Frequent  as  these  occurrences  are,  it  is  only  a  wonder  that 
they  do  not  occur  oftener,  considering  the  mild  penalties 
attached  to  them  and  the  comparatively  small  dishonor  in  the 
community,  if  the  purloiner,  defaulter  or  forger  can  manage  to 
put  some,  if  not  all,  the  plunder  into  a  safe  place.  In  that  case 
he  will  always  be  a  "  gentleman  ' '  and  the  crime  is  soon 
forgotten  by  his  indulgent  friends. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  enormous  expenses  of  build- 
ing and  fitting  up  a  bank,  the  fat  salaries  paid  to  presidents, 
cashiers,  tellers,  clerks  and  porters,  and  other  incidental 


158  FINANCE. 

charges,  it  is  curious  to  see  where  all  this  money  comes 
from.  It  is  not  the  wealthy  class  which  contributes  the  most 
to  the  profits  and  benefits  of  a  bank,  but  the  business  man 
of  the  far  larger  middle  class,  the  crippled  merchant  and  the 
unfortunate  farmer  ;  all  have  to  contribute  to  the  support  of 
the  octopus  that  grows  and  fattens  on  the  lifeblood  of  the 
community.  In  former  times  the  banking  business  was 
almost  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the  Jews,  who  were  debarred 
from  most  other  callings.  These  unfortunate  exiled,  perse- 
cuted and  despised  people  exercised  corresponding  retaliation 
by  availing  themselves  of  every  possible  ways  and  means  to 
hoard  up  and  conceal  money,  charge  enormous  interest,  and, 
knowing  that  they  could  hardly  reckon  with  the  protection  of 
the  law  for  the  collection  of  money  loaned,  they  demanded 
triple  securities  from  the  Gentiles.  The  Jews  have  developed  a 
remarkable  talent  for  money-making  from  the  earliest  times, 
when  the  sons  of  Jacob  thought  it  more  profitable  to  sell 
their  brother  Joseph  into  captivity  than  to  kill  the  harmless 
youth.  Subsequent  grain  transactions  in  Egypt  came  but  to 
prove  this  peculiar  quality  of  that  ancient  race. 

Nearly  all  the  gold  in  those  times  was  in  the  hands  or  under 
the  control  of  the  Jews,  which  is  in  fact  still  the  case  to  a 
considerable  extent.  Moreover  not  a  ducat  or  sequin  passed 
through  the  fingers  of  the  usurer,  but  a  small  particle  was  filed 
off  the  rim  of  the  coin.  This  process  rendered  it  necessary  to 
weigh  the  gold  coins  when  in  circulation,  because  they  had 
become  of  different  sizes  from  the  original  dimensions.  Now- 
adays this  system  of  mutilation  is  but  little  practiced,  but  the 
profit  is  there  all  the  same;  the  circumcision  of  the  coin  has 
been  replaced  by  the  shaving  of  the  paper.  Not  a  cent  goes 
into  a  bank,  nor  comes  out  of  it,  that  does  not  leave  a  direct 
percentage,  or  indirect  benefit,  becoming  tangible  after  a  little 
while.  The  foolish  people  look  upon  the  banks  with  a  great 
deal  of  awe  and  admiration  and  consider  them  most  indispens- 
able and  useful  institutions.  To  have  an  account  in  the 
"  Cucumber  National  Bank,  Limited,  of  Gopherville, "  is  con- 
sidered a  matter  of  pride  and  honor,  and  many  are  the  daily 
allusions  made  by  the  business  people  to  deposits,  bank  time, 
overdrafts,  notes,  discounts,  hiring  of  money,  etc. ;  even  the 


FINANCE.  159 

smallest  payments  are  made  by  cheque.  To  sign  or  indorse  a 
cheque  is  an  act  of  immense  pride  and  gratification. 

There  is  nothing  more  cold,  heartless,  devoid  of  all  humane 
feeling  and  inexorable  toward  an  unfortunate  debtor  than  a 
commercial  or  a  savings  bank;  they  have  no  more  pity  than 
the  wolf  in  a  Russian  forest. 

We  willingly  admit  that  some  banks  are  useful  when  sup- 
plied with  the  necessary  working  capital  in  real  cash,  and  not 
two-thirds  on  paper,  working  and  profiting  only  with  the  funds 
of  the  depositors,  who  thus  run  great  risks.  One  bank  for 
every  town  of  30,000  inhabitants  is  more  than  enough.  The 
only  really  useful  function  of  a  bank  is  the  safe-keeping  of  the 
people's  superfluous  money  in  its  vaults,  and  a  bank  ought  by 
rights  to  get  a  small  percentage  for  storing  such  money,  whilst 
it  should  not  be  permitted  to  touch  any  of  the  coin  thus  depos- 
ited, except  by  formal  consent  of  the  owner  and  by  a  mutual 
agreement  concerning  time  and  interest. 

The  Bank  of  England,  the  Bank  of  France,  the  Bank  of  Ire- 
land and  others  are  not  only  perfectly  safe,  but  very  useful  and 
necessary  institutions.  They  act  partly  as  the  national  treas- 
ury of  the  country,  receive  deposits  of  certain  amounts  on  time 
and  pay  a  moderate  periodical  interest  on  these  ;  they  watch 
and  regulate  the  exigencies  and  wants  of  the  money  market, 
and  fix  the  rates  of  exchange  inland  and  on  foreign  countries. 
These  banks  alone  are  empowered  to  issue  notes  to  a  limited 
amount — notes  backed  by  the  fortune  of  the  whole  nation,  and 
not  like  the  indefinite  notes  issued  by  most  of  our  banks, 
secured  only  by  a  few  miserable  dollars. 


The  people  of  the  United  States  of  North  America  have 
gradually  but  surely  been  educated  to  the  use  and  love  of 
paper  money,  especially  in  the  Eastern  and  Atlantic  States. 
Gold  is  looked  upon  with  suspicion  and  often  reluctance;  the 
soft,  dirty,  unfragrant  paper-rag  is  preferred,  not  so  much 
because  it  is  easier  and  lighter  to  carry  in  the  pocket,  but 
because  it  is  a  part  and  portion  of  a  bank,  because  it  has  been 
handled  and  signed  by  the  divine  banker,  and  because  it  rep- 
resents a  fictitious  double  value.  Gold,  and  particularly  silver, 


1 60  FINANCE. 

are  looked  upon  with  contempt,  when  compared  with  bank- 
notes, greenbacks,  and  Treasury  notes.  The  American  Gov- 
ernment notes,  it  is  very  true,  are  works  of  art,  of  exquisite 
design  and  perfect  execution,  as  long  as  they  are  new  and 
have  passed  through  but  a  few  and  clean  hands;  when  worn 
and  greasy  they  become  objects  of  abomination.  The  Bank 
of  England  issues  the  plainest  notes  of  all, — a  white  piece  of 
paper,  note  size,  with  the  plainest  black  lettering  and  few 
words  in  the  text,  being  blank  on  the  back.  Still  these  notes 
are  the  most  difficult  to  counterfeit  on  account  of  the  specially 
fabricated  paper  and  certain,  almost  imperceptible,  peculiarities. 
No  English  banknote  is  issued  for  less  than  one  pound  ster- 
ling. The  Bank  of  England,  as  the  most  competent  authority 
on  the  subject,  regulates  the  amount  and  circulation  of  coined 
silver,  and  not  the  English  Government  direct.  Whenever 
more  silver  coin  is  needed  of  any  denomination,  the  Bank  of 
England  makes  a  requisition  for  it,  with  the  approval  of  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  on  the  mint,  and  such  silver  coin 
is  furnished  to  the  Bank  of  England,  but  to  nobody  else,  under 
any  circumstances. 

Considering  the  plurality  of  banks  in  our  country,  a  positive 
detriment  to  commerce  and  financial  stability,  steps,  should  be 
taken  immediately  to  reduce  their  number  as  fast  as  their 
present  concessions  and  privileges  terminate,  and  not  to  issue 
any  more  charters.  In  our  humble  opinion  the  banking 
business,  on  a  strictly  national  and  not  local  basis,  should  be 
in  the  hands  or  under  the  control  of  the  State  and  Federal 
authorities.  No  paper  money  should  be  issued  and  in 
circulation  other  than  United  States  notes  of  no  smaller 
denomination  than  ten,  one  hundred  and  one  thousand  dollars. 
Congress  alone  can  authorize  such  issues,  as  the  publ?o 
convenience  and  demands  of  the  national  Treasury  may  from 
time  to  time  require.  All  private  and  national  banknotes 
should  be  withdrawn  and  destroyed  immediately  and  ihe 
bonds  deposited  by  them  as  security  with  the  Treasury 
returned.  In  this  manner,  radical  as  it  may  appear  to  the 
timid,  biased  and  interested,  the  value  of  silver  would  at  once 
increase  to  such  an  extent,  that  all  the  silver  bullion  and  silver 
coin  at  present  lying  useless  and  dormant  in  the  yard  of  the 


FINANCE.  161 

Treasury  at  Washington,  like  sacks  of  potatoes,  and  in  the 
Sub-Treasuries  and  Mints,  would  scarcely  be  adequate  for  the 
circulation  created  by  the  destruction  of  the  smaller  banknotes 
and  greenbacks.  This  is  the  simplest  solution  of  the  ticklish 
silver  question,  and  no  arguments,  polemics  and  subterfuges  by 
the  bankers,  brokers,  usurers  and  party  legislators  can  prevail 
against  it !  We  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the 
systems  and  standards  in  Europe,  or  in  any  other  countries. 
This  great  country  produces  everything  it  needs  for  the 
maintenance,  comfort  and  happiness  of  its  inhabitants ;  our 
surplus  of  every  kind  is  at  the  disposal  of  other  nations,  if  they 
are  in  need  of  our  goods  and  products,  provided  they  are 
willing  and  able  to  pay  for  them  in  such  coin,  as  we  ourselves 
demand  and  have  the  fullest  right  to  exact.  On  the  other 
hand  we  must  submit  to  a  like  procedure,  if  we  are  obliged  to 
purchase  anything  from  them,  or  wish  to  obtain  articles  of 
luxury,  art  treasures  and  other  fancy  articles.  If  anything 
should  be  hoarded  up  and  handled  with  the  greatest  care  and 
strictest  economy  by  the  Federal  Government,  not  for  purposes 
of  speculation  and  control,  but  for  the  sake  of  preservation,  it 
is  the  United  States  gold  coin  and  gold  bullion.  The  actual 
total  amount  of  gold,  coined  and  uncoined,  now  existing  on 
our  globe  (that  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  of  course,  not 
included)  is  not  sufficient,  if  handled  and  circulated,  to  last 
over  two  centuries.  Arts,  manufactures,  jewels,  ornamentation 
and  the  filling  of  teeth  absorb  a  large  quantity  of  the  precious 
metal, — the  child  of  the  sun  by  its  dazzling  brightness  and 
non-corrosive  properties.  The  supply  of  gold  is  not  large  and 
the  output  of  the  mines  insignificant,  since  the  apparently 
inexhaustible  gold  mines  of  California  have  proved  to  be 
perishable  like  everything  else  on  this  earth;  consequently  we 
are  bound  to  make  the  largest  possible  use  of  silver  as  a 
circulating  medium,  whether  we  like  it  or  not ;  whether  it 
injures  the  accursed  usurer,  combination  of  goldbugs  and 
Wall-street  cormorants  or  not. 

Our  mints  ought  to  coin  more  decent  silver  money  than 
that  issued  of  late  years ;  there  is  too  much  base  alloy  in 
our  coins  that  turns  them  to  a  blackish  hue  very  soon, 
and  the  emblematic  heads  on  some  of  them  are  deplorable 


162  FINANCE. 

* 

designs.  It  is  said  that  the  United  States  silver  coins  are 
changed  now  and  then  in  order  to  reproduce  the  likeness  of 
some  notable  woman,  wife,  daughter  or  sister  of  some  high 
functionary.  Whatever  truth  there  may  be  in  this  allegation, 
it  is  a  sad  but  indisputable  fact,  that  the  figureheads  on  our 
-  latest  issues  of  silver  coin,  and  also  the  humble  nickels,  are 
vulgar- looking  and  quite  unartistic.  The  head  on  the  half  and 
quarter  dollars  is  all  face,  neck  and  jaw,  without  any  forehead 
and  receptacle  for  the  brain.  Send  for  some  Swiss  silver  and 
nickel  coins  as  models  and  try  to  improve.  Our  silver  coin  of 
1830  to  1840,  with  the  classic  features  of  a  stately,  mature 
woman  wearing  the  Phrygian  bonnet,  emblematic  of  absolute 
freedom,  was  pretty  near  perfection  ;  but,  for  some  reason 
which  it  would  be  hard  to  explain,  whenever  we  have  anything 
excellent,  useful  and  beautiful,  it  must  needs  be  altered,  or 
even  destroyed,  to  make  room  for  a  pretended  "  improvement " 
that  originated  in  the  limited  brain  of  some  fool  at  the  head  of 
the  corresponding  department  ;  to  wit,  the  periodical  changes 
of  postal  stamps  and  other  unnecessary  metamorphoses,  which 
only  create  expense  and  trouble. 

The  traffic  in  coined  gold  as  an  article  of  merchandise  must 
be  stopped  and  the  coin  restored  to  its  original  purposes. 
If  the  Government  finds  that  gold  is  shipped  across  the  ocean 
to  and  fro  for  the  nefarious  purpose  of  speculation,  or  to  create 
a  scarcity  and  depression  at  any  time,  such  shipments  must  be 
prohibited,  or  at  least  strictly  controlled.  When,  years  after 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  the  national  credit  had  been  restored, 
the  indebtedness  fully  established  and  the  public  finances 
regulated  with  that  energy  and  promptness  so  very  characteristic 
of  the  American  people  when  once  they  really  desire  to  do 
anything  well,  the  so-called  greenbacks  or  legal  tenders,  as 
they  were  called  in  a  facetious  and  sarcastical  manner,  would 
not  go  any  higher  than  seventy-five  cents,  in  spite  of  the  best 
efforts  of  our  Government,  then  in  the  hands  of  men  of  honor 
and  talent. 

This  strange  state  of  affairs  was  brought  about  chiefly  by 
the  wretched,  selfish  and  unpatriotic  clique  of  bankers, 
speculators  and  schemers  against  the  national  credit,  who  had 
shipped  nearly  all  our  gold  to  Europe  for  bond  speculation 


FINANCE.  163 

and  concealed  the  rest  in  their  vaults.  The  Federal  Govern- 
ment took  in  nothing  but  greenbacks  in  payment  of  import 
duties  and  internal  revenues,  and  consequently  found  itself  at 
an  immense  disadvantage.  A  radical  and  stringent  measure 
became  necessary  and  a  law  was  quickly  passed,  that  all  import 
duties  were  payable  in  United  States  gold  coin.  The  tide 
turned  at  once  and  in  a  short  space  of  time  the  Government 
had  most  of  the  gold  stored  in  the  Treasury  and  was  emancipated 
from  the  deadly  clutches  of  the  bankers  and  speculators,  until 
it  chose  to  fall  into  their  power  once  more.  No  gold  should  be 
allowed  to  be  exported  except  in  payment  for  goods  purchased 
abroad,  other  equivalent  received  and  for  the  expenses  of 
travelers.  Such  apparently  arbitrary  measures  must  from 
time  to  time  be  resorted  to  for  the  salvation  and  preservation 
of  the  general  good,  as  opposed  to  the  machinations  of 
egotistical  cliques,  trusts  and  other  dangerous  combinations. 
We  must  not  be  at  all  surprised  at  the  tenacity  with  which 
the  banks  cling  to  the  privilege  of  issuing  their  own  banknotes, 
since  they  make  a  clean  profit  of  at  least  ten  per  cent  on  the 
amount,  the  moment  it  is  placed  in  circulation.  One-tenth 
part  of  these  notes  become  lost,  burned,  or  otherwise  destroyed 
and  are  therefore  never  presented  for  redemption.  The  same 
thing  may  of  course  be  said  of  the  national  currency  ;  but  in 
this  case  the  profit  arising  from  the  loss  of  the  notes  benefits 
the  entire  nation  and  not  individuals,  which  is  a  horse  of  quite 
another  color. 


All  legitimate  banking,  when  limited  to  the  depositing  of 
and  drawing  money  by  cheques,  the  safe-keeping  of  cash, 
securities  and  Treasury  notes,  etc.,  etc.,  the  loaning  of  money 
on  such,  and  on  nothing  else,  with  a  moderate  interest  for  the 
Government,  should  be  exclusively  in  the  hands  and  under 
the  most  rigorous  control  of  the  Government  and  carried  on 
by  the  Sub-Treasuries  now  existing  and  other  agencies  to  be 
established  for  the  purpose  in  large  towns  and  cities  only. 
No  deposit  for  less  than  one  hundred  dollars,  nor  cheques  of  a 
less  amount,  should  be  allowed.  In  this  manner  bank  failures, 
defalcations,  usurers'  interest  and  the  other  numerous  evils  of 


164  FINANCE. 

the  general  banking  profession  would  be  completely  prevented 
and  permanently  abolished.  In  fact,  it  would  be  by  far  more 
conducive  to  the  general  security  and  to  the  prevention  of 
fraud  and  failures,  if  the  stupid  system  of  credit  were  abolished 
altogether,  or  at  least  modified  so  that  credit  be  only  given  at 
the  risk  of  the  confiding  banker,  merchant,  or  business  man 
without  any  recourse  to  law,  swindling  transactions  excepted. 
The  giver  of  credit  would  then  be  particularly  careful  as  to 
whom  to  trust,  and  a  great  number  of  disastrous  transactions 
stifled  in  the  bud.  If  God's  ground  and  lands  were  unsalable 
and  untransferable  in  the  manner  indicated  in  a  previous 
chapter,  there  would  also  be  no  mortgages,  no  foreclosures, 
no  ruin  of  individuals  and  families.  Real  estate  sharps,  land 
cormorants  and  insatiable  owners  would  then  have  to  seek  for 
other  means  of  enriching  themselves. 


The  main  sources  of  revenue  for  the  Federal  Government  are 
the  import  duties  on  foreign  goods  and  the  taxes  on  cigars, 
tobacco,  liquor,  beer,  playing  cards,  etc.  The  internal  revenue 
taxes  were  found  necessary  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion, 
and  have  been  continued  with  some  modifications  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  Government  in  all  its  branches,  the  payment  of  an 
abnormal  amount  of  pensions,  interest  on  bonds,  and  the 
extinction  of  the  national  debt.  The  harmonious  workings  of 
the  Treasury  Department,  almost  perfect  as  to  control,  vigi- 
lance and  accounting,  have  been  too  frequently  disturbed  by 
the  changes  of  administration,  the  pretensions  of  privileged  and 
influential  classes,  and  the  stubborn  resistance  offered  by  the 
interested  capitalists,  importers  and  manufacturers  to  every 
beneficial  measure  introduced  in  Congress.  For  three  long 
months  the  Senate  of  these  United  States  of  North  America — 
a  body  that  should  shine  like  the  constellation  of  the  Southern 
Cross  in  the  political  and  financial  firmament  of  the  world — 
has  been  quarreling,  wrangling,  debating,  fooling  and  jawing 
about  a  question  already  so  thoroughly  known  by  the  people 
as  well  as  the  senators,  so  thoroughly  sifted  by  speech  and  the 
pen  and  so  well  defined  in  the  minds  of  everybody,  that  three 
days  of  study  by  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  and 


FINANCE.  165 

three  of  debate,  should  have  been  amply  sufficient  to  arrive  at 
a  decision,  one  way  or  the  other.  Under  the  circumstances,  it 
might  well  be  asked  whether  an  indignant  people  would  not 
have  been  justified  in  marching  on  the  Federal  Capital  in  order 
to  disperse  such  an  ill-disposed  and  incompetent  body  with 
sticks.  The  advocates  of  the  suppression  of  the  Senate  from 
the  national  legislation  must  have  rubbed  their  hands  with 
glee. 

The  action  on  the  Tariff  Reform  is  retarded  in  a  similar  man- 
ner by  the  Senate,  a  portion  of  whose  members,  by  reason  of 
the  long  term  they  have  served  in  that  august  body,  consider 
themselves  infallible  and  superior  in  experience  and  knowledge 
to  their  less  fortunate  colleagues.  They  will  not  listen  to  rea- 
son and  argument,  nor  to  the  dictates  of  the  nation's  wants, 
but  persevere  in  malignant  stubbornness  and  strict  party  atti- 
tude. Reform  in  the  attributes  and  working  of  the  Senate  is 
most  urgently  needed,-  or  that  body  should  be  abolished  alto- 
gether. 

With  very  few  exceptions  every  article  imported  into  this 
country  should  be  subject  to  import  duties.  It  is  neither 
necessary  nor  politic  to  levy,  for  instance,  ten  cents  a  pound 
on  sugar,  coffee,  tea,  rice  and  other  staples;  but  a  trifle  ought 
to  be  collected  on  all  of  these.  It  is  a  quota  easily  borne  by 
the  final  consumers,  and  nobody  will  complain  but  the  trusts 
and  combinations.  With  a  low  tariff  we  were  very  prosper- 
ous forty  years  ago;  there  is  no  earthly  reason  why  the  same 
condition  should  not  exist  at  present. 


No  tax  can  be  more  just  and  equitable  than  the  income 
tax.  Persons  earning  a  bare  living  might  be  exempt  from 
it;  but  commencing  with  an  income  of  $1,200,  a  light  tax 
should  be  levied  on  this  amount,  the  rate  increasing  with 
the  progression  of  the  figures,  so  that  a  man  deriving  an 
income  of  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year  shall  contribute  ten  per 
cent  to  the  support  of  the  Government.  These  classes  pay 
three  times  as  much  in  other  countries.  When  an  estate  is 
probated  and  divided  among  the  heirs  of  say  five  thousand 
dollars,  the  Government  might  collect  one  per  cent;  on  ten 


166  FINANCE. 

thousand,  two ;  on  twenty  thousand,  five  per  cent;  and  so  on 
at  an  increasing  ratio,  until  twenty-five  per  cent  is  reached,  as 
the  maximum.  The  heirs  who  get  possession  of  an  amount  of 
property  they  did  not  possess  nor  earn,  have  no  reason  to 
complain. 

Whilst  writing  the  present  lines  we  see  that  the  President 
has  found  fit  to  veto  the  bill  passed  by  both  houses  for  the 
coinage  of  the  so-called  ( '  seigniorage  ' '  silver.  This  outland- 
ish term  refers  to  a  sum  of  fifty-five  million  dollars,  represent- 
ing the  difference  between  the  nominal  value  of  the  dollar  and 
its  real  value  at  the  actual  market  rate.  This  bill  had  been  care- 
fully elaborated  by  the  defenders  of  poor,  despised  silver,  to  off- 
set to  some  extent  the  effects  of  the  Sherman  law,  by  virtue  of 
which  the  public  Treasury  was  bound  to  purchase  four  million 
ounces  of  silver  in  bullion  monthly,  to  be  piled  up  like  so  much 
pig-iron  in  the  Treasury  yard,  of  no  use  to  the  Government  nor 
to  anybody  else.  The  absurdity  of  such  a  law  is  self-evident, 
yet  it  took  mighty  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  sensible  portion  of 
Congress  to  procure  its  repeal.  The  dollars  thus  obtained  by 
the  aforesaid  ' '  seigniorage ' '  law  were  very  properly  intended  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  the  Government.  Moreover,  if  the  coin- 
age of  such  a  vast  sum  of  silver  could  not  be  operated  by  our 
mints  quick  enough,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  author- 
ized to  issue  notes  of  the  species  called  '  *  Silver  Certificates ' ' 
for  the  amount  yet  uncoined.  The  coining  of  these  fifty-five 
million  dollars  once  terminated,  the  Secretary  was  to  go  on 
coining  the  balance  of  the  silver  belonging  to  the  Government 
and  now  lying  piled  up  in  Washington.  These  additional  dol- 
lars were  to  be  kept  in  the  Treasury  to  gradually  redeem  the 
notes  issued  for  the  purchase  of  the  silver  bars,  which  were  to 
be  finally  destroyed.  This  bill,  the  principal  object  of  which 
was  to  place  in  circulation  the  largest  possible  number  of  silver 
dollars,  has  been  vetoed  by  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  nation 
in  a  long,  tiresome  message  to  Congress,  the  prolixity  of  which 
does  not  convince  any  person  of  common  sense  that  the  Presi- 
dent knows  more  about  the  financial  question  in  general  and 
the  silver  question  in  particular  than  three  hundred  men,  per- 
haps less  acquainted  with  jurisprudence  than  with  their  par- 
ticular duty  toward  the  people.  We  do  not  pretend  to  impugn 


FINANCE.  1C7 

the  motives  of  the  President  for  taking  such  singular  action, 
but  he  certainly  did  expose  himself  to  the  galling  criticism  of 
the  majority  and  to  the  allegation  that  this  unfortunate  veto 
had  been  dictated  to  him  by  the  owners  of  gold  in  New  York 
and  elsewhere.  The  wife  of  Caesar  must  be  above  suspicion. 
Now  the  whole  tedious,  disgusting  and  apparently  never- 
ending  struggle  is  to  be  gone  through  again.  Such  is  the  sad 
result  of  the  veto  power  vested  in  one  single  individual  in  a 
great  and  free  republic. 

The  whole  secret  of  the  silver  question  lies  concealed  in  the 
fact,  that  the  bankers,  brokers  and  owners  of  gold  are  opposed 
to  the  coining  and  circulation  of  the  dollar  of  our  fathers, 
because  these  dollars  would  replace  their  banknotes  and 
deprive  them  of  the  double  benefit  of  a  fictitious  increase  of 
their  capital  and  the  double  interest  derived  from  this  ficti- 
tious capital  and  the  bonds  deposited  by  them  with  the  Treas- 
ury. The  coinage  of  the  silver  reserve,  however,  would  not 
give  all  the  relief  needed  and  expected  by  our  poor  and  inno- 
cent population,  unless  the  banks  are  forced  to  withdraw  all 
their  notes  within  a  given  period  and  are  prohibited  ever  there- 
after to  issue  any  more  paper  money — an  operation  the  Federal 
Government  alone  should  have  power  to  perform  by  special 
act  of  Congress,  whenever  Treasury  notes  are  needed,  and  under 
no  circumstances  should  there  be  any  lower  denomination  of 
notes  than  ten  dollars. 

The  affection  for  paper  money,  however,  which  in  Kurope  is 
issued  by  the  Government  only  (the  Bank  of  England  and  Bank 
of  France  are  quasi  Government  institutions),  is  not  limited  to 
our  people  alone.  During  our  travels  in  Austro- Hungary  and 
Italy,  our  gold  pieces  were  frequently  refused  by  small  busi- 
ness people,  who  were  better  acquainted  with  the  more  abun- 
dant notes  and  therefore  preferred  the  latter. 

We  have  endeavored  to  be  brief  and  condense  as  many 
points  as  possible  in  this  chapter.  Knough  has  been  said  and 
written  about  the  ticklish  financial  and  gold  and  silver  stand- 
ard questions  to  almost  fill  the  immense  library  at  the  Vatican 
in  Rome.  Impartiality  and  bold  frankness  are  lacking  in 
most  of  the  works  on  the  subject. 


VIII.    FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT. 

WE  MUST  now  beg  the  kind  reader  to  accompany  us  figura- 
tively to  the  Capital  of  the  United  States,  the  seat  of  the 
Federal  Government,  the  beautiful,  neat  and  genteel  city  of 
Washington,  in  order  to  pass  our  comments  on  the  Federal 
authorities  in  the  same  impartial,  but  fearless  manner  with 
which  we  have  treated  the  previous  subjects. 

A  more  appropriate  and  honorable  name  could  not  have  been 
selected  for  the  National  Capital  than  that  of  the  great  and 
patriotic  Washington.  A  peculiar  charm  surrounds  the 
Capital  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  and  a  prestige  enjoyed 
by  no  other  city  in  the  country,  arising  from  the  fact,  that  here 
reside  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  nation,  his  Cabinet,  the 
Supreme  Court,  the  heads  of  the  different  Government  depart- 
ments and  a  host  of  employees,  all  generously  remunerated. 
Congress  meets  here  during  many  months  of  the  year  in  the 
stately  capitol ;  the  public  buildings  are  fine  specimens  of 
architecture,  symmetry  and  strength  ;  the  streets  in  admirable 
condition,  the  broad  avenues  planted  with  shade  trees  and  an 
air  of  aristocratic  gentility  pervading  the  place,  vulgar  traffic 
and  commercial  transactions  being  there  relegated  to  the  back- 
ground. Above  all  towers  the  great  Washington  monument, 
five  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  in  the  form  of  an  immense 
obelisk,  but  which  ought  to  have  taken  the  shape  and  propor- 
tions of  a  column,  with  a  colossal  statue  of  Washington  to 
crown  it.  Washington  may  be  counted  the  third  handsomest 
capital  in  the  world  after  Paris  and  Vienna ;  yet  its  natural 
beauty  is  greatly  marred  by  the  dull  reddish  brown  color  of 
her  brick  buildings  ;  the  houses  should  be  painted  in  light 
colors,  like  one  of  the  business  streets,  and  the  effect  with  the 
masses  of  green  foliage  would  be  enchanting.  Another  incon- 
venience is  the  presence  of  an  immense  number  of  colored 
people,  about  one-third  part  of  the  whole  population  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  the  majority  of  whom  ought  to  have 


FEDERAL    GOVERNMENT.  169 

been  induced  to  choose  another  field  for  their  labors  instead  of 
remaining  in  the  capital  city  after  the  war  of  Secession. 

Washington  is  undoubtedly  the  best-governed  city  of  the 
United  States,  for  the  powerful  but  simple  reason,  that  there 
is  no  board  of  aldermen,  no  common  council,  consequently  no 
municipal  obstruction,  no  stealing  and  pilfering  as  in  other 
cities.  The  District  of  Columbia  is  governed  by  a  commission  of 
three,  appointed  by  the  President,  with  the  consent  of  the 
Senate,  for  a  term  of  three  years.  One  of  these  commissioners 
must  be  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Engineer  Corps  above 
the  rank  of  captain  ;  the  other  two  civilians.  These  latter 
receive  $5,000  per  annum,  whilst  the  officer  has  only  his 
army  pay.  The  civilians  must  give  absolutely  secure  bonds  in 
the  penal  sum  of  $50,000.  These  commissioners  have  control  of 
affairs  concerning  the  city  of  Washington  and  the  Federal 
District  and  are  subject  to  the  powers  conferred  on  them  by 
Congress.  The  commissioners  appoint  the  trustees  of  the 
public  schools,  who  serve  without  any  compensation. 

It  is  a  great  pity  that  the  capital  of  the  United  States  should 
have  been  located  so  close  to  the  seacoast,  instead  of  being 
situated  more  in  the  center  of  the  country,  five  or  six  hundred 
miles  inland.  Its  position  is  too  much  exposed  in  case  of  a 
foreign  war  and  possible  invasion  of  the  vandals  of  modern 
times. 

The  area  of  the  District  of  Columbia  is  about  sixty  square 
miles.  The  plan  of  the  city  of  Washington  was  laid  out  by 
President  Washington  himself,  with  the  assistance  of  a  French 
engineer  of  the  army,  the  work  being  subsequently  completed 
by  Ellicott.  The  city  was  laid  out  at  right  angles,  but  is  trav- 
ersed by  a  number  of  avenues  at  oblique  angles,  it  is  said,  for 
strategical  purposes  in  cases  of  invasion  or  rebellion,  Washing- 
ton having  been  a  farseeing  man.  The  streets  average  one 
hundred  feet  in  width  and  the  avenues  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet,  making  in  all  thirty-three  miles  of  the  most  perfectly 
built  and  level  thoroughfares  to  be  found  anywhere  on  the 
globe — a  perfect  paradise  for  bicycle  riders,  of  whom  thousands 
are  met  on  the  streets  shooting  about  for  business  or  pleasure 
purposes.  Washington  is  about  four  miles  in  length  and  two 
and  a  half  in  width. 


170  FEDERAL,    GOVERNMENT. 

In  the  Orient,  where,  the  Mohammedan  creed  predominates,  it 
is  considered  a  duty  of  great  religious  importance  to  undertake  a 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  in  Arabia,  where  the  tomb  of  the  Prophet 
is  situated.  The  journey  to  Mecca  is  connected  with  immense 
difficulties  and  great  hardships;  it  may  be  said  that  one-third 
of  the  poor  pilgrims  never  return  to  their  homes.  In  a  like 
spirit,  and  considering  the  ease  and  perfect  comfort  with  which 
we  Americans  can  reach  the  national  capital,  our  people  ought 
to  do  their  utmost  to  visit  Washington  at  some  period  of  their 
life,  and  also  the  shrine  where  the  Father  of  his  country  is 
entombed. 

In  consequence  of  the  exposed  position  of  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, and  considering  that  it  contains  such  costly  public  build- 
ings, the  priceless  archives,  accounts  and  records  of  the  Govern- 
ment, from  its  inception  to  the  present  day,  the  navy  yard  and 
cannon  foundry  and  other  public  property  worth  many  hundred 
millions,  the  place  should  be  strongly  fortified,  not  only  against 
a  coup  de  main  on  the  part  of  a  foreign  invader,  but  also  to  pro- 
tect it  against  the  sudden  eruption  of  a  rebellious  mob,  which 
is  so  easily  organized  and  armed  in  our  country.  A  series  of 
detached  forts  in  telegraphic,  heliographic  and  ballistic  com- 
munication with  each  other,  armed  with  the  most  improved 
heavy  artillery  and  lightly  garrisoned  in  time  of  peace,  would 
be  sufficient,  with  half  a  dozen  light  batteries  to  protect  the 
buildings  in  the  city  and  command  the  streets.  It  is  all  well 
enough  to  allege  the  improbability  of  a  foreign  war  or  of  an 
internal  rebellion.  Such  things  have  happened  before  and  may 
occur  again  quite  suddenly  and  unexpectedly,  if  we  are  to 
believe  certain  symptoms  in  the  horizon.  As  the  saying  is, 
' '  One  pound  of  prevention  is  better  (and  cheaper)  than  one  ton 
of  cure."  The  destruction,  burning,  or  sacking  of  the  national 
capital  would  be  an  irreparable,  appalling  loss  to  our  country 
and  the  world.  Better  appropriate  twenty  millions  for  the 
defense  of  the  capital  and  commence  the  great  work  at  once. 
It  will  take  tnree  years  to  accomplish  it,  the  topography  of  the 
Federal  District  being  unfavorable  and  requiring  skillful  as  well 
as  scientific  military  engineering  to  insure  a  perfect  system  of 
defense. 


FEDERAL    GOVERNMENT.  171 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  adopted  on  the  iyth 
of  September,  1787,  is  a  masterpiece  of  an  organic  law,  a 
"  Magna  Charta  "  redounding  to  the  highest  honor  of  the 
noble  and  patriotic  men  who  framed,  approved  and  signed  it. 
It  was  one  of  the  grandest  acts  of  peace  ever  performed  since 
history  affords  us  plausible  records.  This  Constitution  is 
sometimes  read  in  public  on  the  4th  of  July  each  year, 
together  with  the  no  less  famous  Declaration  of  Independence, 
made  eleven  years  previous,  and  also  read  by  the  pupils  of 
the  schools  ;  but  we  may  venture  to  say  that  scarcely  one  in  a 
hundred  remembers  anything  about  it.  Reference  being 
frequently  made  in  these  humble  lines  to  the  text  of  the 
Constitution,  we  deem  it  useful  to  the  kind  reader  to  append  a 
copy  of  it ;  also  one  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Swiss  Confed- 
eration, which  is  no  less  admirable,  and  the  perusal  of  which 
will  no  doubt  greatly  interest  him  or  her. 

Our  American  Constitution  had  evidently  been  used  as  a 
model  by  Switzerland,  when  that  famous  Confederation  con- 
solidated more  closely  in  1848,  after  their  short  war  of 
secession  (  ' '  Sonderbund  Krieg  "  ),  and  adopted  a  new  char- 
ter. This  was  revised  and  perfected  in  1874  by  the  insertion 
of  a  number  of  clauses,  which  might  in  turn  be  copied  by  our 
own  great  country  without  dimming  our  glory  in  the  slightest 
degree,  because  our  Constitution  of  1787  has  been  the  great 
beacon  light  by  which  the  Republics  of  France,  Switzerland 
and  most  of  the  Spanish-American  States  have  been  guided, 
when  they  framed  their  own  free  organic  law. 

Nothing,  however,  is  perfect  in  this  defective  world.  At 
the  time  of  elaborating  our  old  Constitution  a  hundred  and 
seven  years  ago,  its  provisions  were  adequate  for  all  require- 
ments of  the  period  and  as  complete  and  perfect  as  any  human 
work  can  be  ;  still  the  changes  of  the  times,  circumstances, 
conditions  of  men  and  the  requirements  of  the  nation  in 
general,  rendered  it  necessary  to  make  additions  to  the 
original  Constitution  at  various  periods,  in  the  shape  of 
amendments  proposed  by  Congress  and  ratified  by  the  different 
States  composing  the  Union.  Since  the  last  amendment  has 
been  added  to  the  venerable  document,  new  events  have  taken 
place  on  the  social  and  political  chessboard  of  the  nation, 


172  FEDERAL    GOVERNMENT. 

and  further  amendments,  some  of  quite  a  radical  but  neces- 
sary nature,  would  seem  to  be  in  order  to  all  well-meaning, 
honest  and  patriotic  minds.  A  careful  perusal  of  the  appended 
Swiss  Constitution  will  at  once  point  out  the  particular  clauses 
bearing  on  our  own  case  and  which  are  worthy  of  our  earliest 
and  most  serious  consideration.  It  is  no  humiliation,  no 
disgrace,  no  impropriety,  to  imitate  and  adopt  that  which  we 
find  superior  in  our  fellow-beings,  much  less  so  in  our  sister 
nations,  especially  the  republics.  Unfortunately  ''jingoism," 
or  rather,  as  it  is  called  in  this  country,  "  spread-eagleism,"  is 
too  prevalent  here,  and  we  generally  consider  ourselves 
superior  in  everything  to  other  nations,  when  some  of 
them  can  teach  us  humiliating  lessons,  to  witness,  the  Peru- 
vian, Chilean  and  Sandwich  imbroglios,  into  which  we  were 
led  by  the  ignorance  and  stubbornness  of  those  responsible  for 
our  false  position  and  the  moral  hits  we  received  on  these  and 
other  occasions.  In  diplomacy  for  instance  we  cannot  hold  a 
candle  to  the  smallest  Spanish-American  republic,  because 
these  have  trained  men,  knowledge  of  human  nature,  winning 
ways  and  manners,  besides  other  diplomatic  qualifications,  in 
which  we  are  sadly  deficient.  We  will  return  to  this  subject 
later  on  and  give  it  proper  ventilation,  as  it  is  of  great  im- 
portance also.  

The  glorious  Republic  of  Switzerland  ("Schweizerische 
Kidgenossenschaft ")  originally  consisted  of  twenty-five  differ- 
ent republics,  and  is  now  consolidated  into  twenty-two  Cantons. 
Her  new  Constitution  was  approved  by  the  Cantons  and  adopted 
on  the  29th  day  of  May,  1874.  The  Swiss  Government  is 
undoubtedly  as  perfect  as  anything  human  can  possibly  be. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  this  state  of  perfection  is  the  result  of 
six  hundred  years  of  practical  experiments.  After  passing 
through  the  vicissitudes  of  war, — foreign,  civil  and  religious, 
— exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  surrounding  powerful  nations, 
who  coveted  those  portions  of  Switzerland  bordering  on  their 
States;  internecine  rivalries  and  fierce  struggles;  the  resistance 
of  the  powerful  landed,  secular  and  monastic  clergy  to  all 
innovations  and  progress, — the  valiant  and  patriotic  Swiss  peo- 
ple came  out  victorious  and  covered  with  glory  from  all  these 


FEDERAL    GOVERNMENT.  173 

dangerous  struggles  and  complications,  and  alike  to  the  phoe- 
nix, their  republic  has  emerged  from  the  trying  flames  puri- 
fied, consolidated  and  perfected.  No  wonder  that  these  people 
love  their  mountains  and  institutions! 

The  Federal  Assembly  of  Switzerland  is  composed  of  the 
National  Council  of  147  members  (one  for  every  twenty  thou- 
sand inhabitants),  elected  for  three  years  by  direct  vote  of  the 
nation,  and  the  Council  of  States,  consisting  of  forty-four  mem- 
bers, likewise  elected  for  three  years  by  direct  suffrage  in  part 
of  the  Cantons  and  by  the  legislative  authorities  in  others. 
These  two  legislative  bodies,  in  turn,  elect  the  Federal  Council, 
consisting  of  seven  Swiss  citizens,  which  is  the  executive 
authority,  also  for  three  years.  They  also  elect  the  President 
of  the  Confederation  from  the  bosom  of  the  Federal  Council, 
for  one  year,  and  the  members  of  the  Federal  Tribunal 
(Supreme  Court),  of  fourteen  members  and  nine  substitutes, 
for  six  years.  The  President  cannot  succeed  himself  and  steps 
out  at  the  conclusion  of  his  year;  but  he  may  be  re-elected  at 
some  future  period.  President  and  Vice- President  are  elected 
annually,  in  January,  from  the  members  of  the  Federal  Coun- 
cil, which  is,  in  fact,  the  Cabinet,  who  have  the  title  of  "  Chief 
of  Department,"  and  exercise  the  same  functions  as  the  Secre- 
taries composing  our  own  Cabinet.  The  President  may  select 
any  department  he  chooses,  except  those  of  War  and  Finance, 
which  he  cannot  hold  whilst  he  is  President.  The  seven 
departments  are  :  Interior,  Military,  Justice  and  Police^  For- 
eign, Finance  and  Excise,  Industry  and  Agriculture,  and  Posts 
and  Railroads.  Every  Swiss  citizen  who  has  attained  the  age 
of  twenty  years  is  entitled  to  vote  and  eligible  to  office,  the 
clergymen  alone  excepted. 

Here  are  three  wise  provisions  in  the  Swiss  Constitution : 
the  Presidential  term  of  but  one  year  and  no  immediate  re-elec- 
tion; the  inability  of  the  President  to  occupy  the  position  of 
either  Secretary  of  War  or  of  the  Treasury;  and  the  exclusion 
of  all  clergymen  from  the  legislative  assemblies.  The  servants 
of  the  Lord  are  thus  relegated  to  their  proper  sphere.  Switzer- 
land has  had  enough  of  ecclesiastical  troubles  and  does  not 
want  any  more.  For  the  same  reason  she  has  persistently 
refused  to  allow  an  apostolic  delegate  to  reside  at  her  capital 


174  FEDERAL    GOVERNMENT. 

or  anywhere  in  her  territory.  Some  thirty  years  ago  a  papal 
ablegate  came  to  Bern  in  spite  of  the  government,  and  was 
politely  reconducted  to  the  Italian  frontier. 


The  powers  of  the  President  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  are 
very  limited,  not  at  all  in  comparison  with  the  immense 
faculties  exercised  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  of 
North  America,  who  is  sometimes  called  ' '  the  King  in  a 
clawhammer  coat ; ' '  for  verily  his  attributes  are  superior  to 
those  of  the  Queen  of  England,  the  Kings  of  Belgium,  Denmark, 
and  several  other  monarchs.  In  the  first  place  he  is  not  only 
supreme  commander  of  the  army  and  navy,  but  also  of  the 
militia  of  the  different  States,  when  called  into  the  service  of 
the  United  States  ;  he  need  not  take  actual  command  in  the 
field  in  time  of  war,  yet  all  orders  emanate  from  him  and  he 
appoints  and  removes  the  commanders  at  his  pleasure ;  he 
grants  reprieves  and  pardons  ;  he  makes  treaties  with  foreign 
nations,  subject  to  the  ratification  of  the  Senate  ;  with  the 
approval  of  the  same  body  he  appoints  the  Secretaries  of  the 
Departments,  Ambassadors,  Ministers,  Consuls,  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  and  Federal  courts  and  a  host  of  other  officers  of 
the  Federal  Government,  and  so  forth.  Such  powers  were 
well  vested  in  and  safely  confided  to  such  men  as  Washington, 
Adams,  Jefferson,  Monroe,  Pierce  and  Lincoln;  but  in  the 
hands  of  more  than  one  President  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America  they  were  badly  abused  and  misused.  Therefore 
these  powers  should  be  restricted,  especially  that  of  vetoing 
any  law  passed  by  a  majority  of  both  houses  of  Congress. 

The  presumption  that  one  single  individual  should  know 
more  about  a  measure  or  question  that  has  been  studied,  sifted, 
ventilated,  discussed  and  thoroughly  examined  for  weeks  and 
sometimes  months,  by  the  respective  committees,  and  subse- 
quently by  hundreds  of  men  supposed  to  possess  some  intellect, 
and  that  has  been  adopted  by  a  majority  of  these  men,  is 
absurd  in  the  highest  degree.  The  only  valid  apology  that 
could  possibly  be  given  for  the  anomalous  veto  power  vested 
in  the  President  might  be  that  of  undue  haste  011  the  part  of 
Congress  in  passing  an  act ;  but  our  Solons  in  Washington, 


FEDERAL    GOVERNMENT.  175 

like  their  compeers  in  the  State  Legislatures,  are  not  generally 
afflicted  by  excess  of  zeal ;  on  the  contrary,  delay  and 
procrastination  are  their  organic  defects.  The  Constitution 
should  be  amended  so  that  the  President  shall  sign  all  bills 
passed  by  Congress  within  seven  days,  as  a  matter  of  form  only 
and  courtesy  to  him  as  Chief  Magistrate;  but  in  extraordinary 
cases  only  shall  he  have  the  privilege  to  return  a  bill  to 
Congress  with  his  brief  and  pertinent  remarks,  requesting  that 
body  to  reconsider  the  bill  and  vote  on  it  once  more,  but  a 
simple  majority  vote>  and  no  limit  of  two-thirds,  shall  be 
sufficient  to  decide  the  whole  matter,  and  the  President  be 
bound  to  affix  his  signature  immediately  upon  the  second 
passage  of  such  bill. 

Of  all  the  high  gubernatorial  stations  on  earth,  some  of 
which  are  "way  up,"  as  the  vulgar  saying  is,  including  that 
of  the  Dalai  Lama  of  Thibet,  that  of  President  of  the  United 
States  of  North  America  stands  foremost  in  rank,  honor  and 
dignity.  The  man  who  does  not  recognize  that  fact  is  to  be 
pitied.  The  Czar  of  Russia,  who  is  the  autocrat,  secular  and 
spiritual  ruler  over  a  hundred  millions  of  people,  extending 
over  a  larger  territory  than  the  United  States,  the  master 
over  the  life,  death  and  property  of  all  his  subjects,  may  be 
considered  the  most  powerful  ruler  on  earth;  but,  be  his  glory 
ever  so  great,  it  cannot  compare  with  that  of  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  our  own  country.  The  latter  does  not  inherit 
his  station  by  the  so-called  divine  right  of  succession,  which  is 
but  an  accident  of  birth,  but  he  is  chosen  as  first  man  in  the 
country  on  account  of  his  qualifications  and  his  personal  value, 
and  he  rules  over  seventy  millions  of  free  and  intelligent  people, 
not  over  serfs,  slaves  and  ignorant  men.  The  rank  of  President 
of  the  United  States  is  often  underrated  and  not  sufficiently 
appreciated  by  the  people  in  general,  and  sometimes  by  the 
incumbent  himself. 

Such  an  exalted,  honorable  and  exceptional  station  should 
be  surrounded  by  the  highest  respect  on  the  part  of  everybody  ; 
no  personal,  insulting,  or  sarcastical,  ridiculing  articles  con- 
cerning him  should  be  allowed  to  appear  in  print,  nor  any 
caricatures  made  of  his  person,  whilst  in  the  presidential  chair. 
His  person  during  the  four  years  of  his  term  must  be  sacred  to 


176  FEDERAL    GOVERNMENT. 

all,  high  and  low ;  if  we  have  cause  to  dislike  and  not  to 
esteem  the  individual,  his  exilted  rank  above  all  of  us  must 
inspire  reverence  and  respect ;  else  we  befoul  our  own  nest. 
The  President  of  the  United  States  is  entitled  to  the  fullest  and 
most  ample  protection  of  his  person  and  that  of  his  immediate 
family  at  all  times  and  in  all  places  during  his  administration. 
In  beautiful  and  perfect  Switzerland  no  standing  army  is 
necessary,  even  the  police  being  almost  superfluous,  as  the 
people  are  sensible,  patriotic  and  orderly.  In  France  and  other 
countries  the  President  has  a  staff  of  army  officers,  called  his 
"  military  household,"  performing  the  functions  of  aids,  secre- 
taries, ordnance  officers,  guards,  etc.  This  is  quite  proper 
and  useful  besides.  If  in  the  now  well-regulated  and  tested 
Republic  of  France  such  military  protection  is  found  appro- 
priate and  necessary,  it  is  no  less  so  in  this  country,  so  full  of 
ill-disposed  and  crazy  individuals,  for  whom  nothing  whatever 
is  sacred.  We  reflect  with  sadness  on  the  infamous  assassina- 
tion within  twenty  years  of  two  of  our  Presidents,  the  great, 
immortal  Lincoln  and  the  unfortunate  Garfield,  a  stain  that 
will  never  be  wiped  from  our  national  scutcheon,  because  we 
did  not,  and  do  not  now,  sufficiently  and  properly  protect  our 
Presidents.  The  President  should  have  a  military  household 
of  one  colonel,  one  major  and  four  captains  of  the  army  for 
protection  of  his  person  and  the  better  service  and  dignity  of 
his  high  office.  Do  not  talk  about  Republican  simplicity 
nowadays  ;  those  times  are  passed  long  since.  Steps  to  that 
effect  should  have  been  taken  long  age,  ever  since  the  kind, 
gentlemanly  and  honorable  Franklin  Pierce  was  brutally 
assaulted  on  the  steps  of  the  capitol  and  rotten  eggs  broken  on 
his  head.  We  have  too  many  miserable  wretches  and  irres- 
ponsible cranks,  who  hover  around  the  White  House  and  even 
openly  threaten  the  inmates. 

Still  more,  a  military  guard  of  twelve  soldiers  and  one  officer 
should  be  stationed  at  the  White  House  and  a  sentinel  placed 
at  the  different  entrances,  said  guard  to  be  relieved  once  in 
four  hours.  Had  poor  Lincoln  and  Garfield  been  accompanied 
by  one  officer  only,  in  uniform,  with  sword  and  pistol,  they  would 
not  have  been  assassinated.  We  owe  that  much  to  the  men  who 
consent  to  take  charge  of  the  exalted  but  highly  difficult 


FEDERAL    GOVERNMENT.  177 

station  at  the  head  of  this  powerful  nation.  The  other  public 
buildings  in  Washington,  too,  ought  to  be  protected  by  a  mili- 
tary guard  each  and  sentinels,  relieved  once  in  four  hours. 
There  is  no  saying  to  what  follies  and  excesses  certain 
dangerous  and  crazy  elements  may  resort ;  it  is  better  to  pro- 
vide in  time  against  such  contingencies  and  thus  prevent  their 
occurrence. 

When  the  population  of  the  United  States  consisted  but  of  a 
few  millions,  and  the  recent  exploits  of  generals  and  civilians 
during  the  revolutionary  period  were  household  words, and  the 
statesmen  personally  known,  so  to  say,  to  every  citizen,  the 
choice  of  a  President  was  no  great  difficulty  and  could  be  safely 
intrusted  to  the  people  at  large.  The  provisions  of  the  Con- 
stitution, too,  were  evidently  intended  to  secure  the  election 
of  the  fittest  candidate  and  the  one  who  secured  the  majority 
of  the  electoral  vote.  These  provisions  have  been  entirely 
perverted ;  the  electors  are  no  longer  presidential  voters,  but 
mere  dummies.  The  presidential  elections  of  our  day  are  farces  ; 
we  have  no  choice  of  men  but  the  two  or  three  candidates  set 
up  by  the  corrupt  party  conventions,  composed  of  schemers,  pro- 
fessional politicians  and  office-fiends,  with  a  scanty  alloy  of 
honest  and  patriotic  men.  The  nominations  of  these  candidates 
take  place  amidst  noise  and  uproar  and  scenes  of  a  more  or 
less  undignified  and  indecent  character.  But  few  of  the  people 
know  anything  of  the  nominees  for  presidential  honors  but 
what  they  read  in  partial  and  biased  newspapers,  which  either 
blacken  the  candidates  completely,  or  praise  them  to  the  skies. 
Therefore  it  is  not  the  people,  as  originally  intended  by  the 
Constitution,  that  elect  our  Presidents,  but  a  clique  of  politicians ; 
the  people  have  no  choice  in  the  matter.  And  then  consider 
the  upheaval,  disturbance  and  disorder  reigning  all  over  the 
country  for  a  year  or  more  previous  to  the  real  election.  The 
game  is  not  worth  the  money.  The  President  and  Vice- 
President  should  be  elected  every  four  years  by  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  in  Congress  assembled,  by  a  majority 
vote,  from  their  own  number.  This  process  would  not  only 
bring  immense  relief  to  the  country  in  general,  but  would  un- 
doubtedly insure  the  election  of  the  proper  man,  because  the 


178  FEDERAL    GOVERNMENT. 

Senators  and  Deputies  (as  they  ought  to  be  called)  have  a 
far  better  opportunity  to  see  and  become  acquainted  with  the 
candidates  than  the  general  public,  who  are  mostly  fooled  and 
deceived  in  a  shameful  manner.  It  is  only  a  wonder  we  have 
stood  it  so  long  !  No  President  should  be  allowed  to  succeed 
himself,  though  he  may  be  re-elected  at  some  future  period  if 
he  has  done  remarkably  well  during  his  first  term. 

The  presidential  messages  are  too  long  altogether  ;  they  lack 
clearness  and  conciseness,  and  instead  of  subserving  the  public 
interest,  create  confusion  and  frequently  contempt  on  the  part 
of  Congress.  The  President  should  hand  in  a  summary  but 
clear  report  of  his  doings  during  the  year,  accompanied  by  the 
respective  short  reports  of  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  and 
suggest  such  measures  as  in  his  opinion  and  judgment  may  be 
necessary  and  useful.  This  document  ought  to  contain  but 
one-tenth  part  of  the  usual  yearly  messages  to  Congress,  which 
are  read  and  thrown  in  the  congressional  waste-basket,  there- 
fore losing  their  object  and  purpose  entirely. 

The  salaries  of  the  President  and  Vice-President  are  pretty 
fair.  If  the  former  is  economically  inclined,  he  can  easily  lay 
aside  one-half  of  his  salary  as  a  reserve  fund  for  later  years. 
On  the  other  hand  a  larger  amount  ought  to  be  appropriated 
for  the  representation  fund  of  the  Presidential  office,  the 
public  festivities  and  entertainments  at  the  White  House,  etc., 
etc.,  such  as  are  in  harmony  with  the  power,  wealth  and 
dignity  of  this  great  nation.  After  having  filled  the 
exalted  station  of  Chief  Magistrate  of  this  mighty  Republic 
during  four  years,  the  prestige  of  which  will  cleave  to  him 
as  long  as  he  lives,  the  fortunate  ex-President  should  retire 
to  private  life  and  not  engage  in  any  vulgar  and  inferior 
profession.  Some  of  our  Presidents  have  not  had  sufficient 
regard  for  their  dignity  in  that  respect,  and,  to  the  great 
mortification  of  the  sensible  portion  of  their  fellow-citizens, 
returned  to  ordinary  though  not  dishonorable  pursuits,  one  of 
them  again  becoming  a  member  of  a  law  firm  and  even 
consenting  to  plead  in  open  court ;  another  one  acting  as 
lecturer  in  a  university  for  a  consideration.  George  Washing- 
ton and  several  others  followed  the  illustrious  example  of 
Cincinnatus  and  returned  to  their  farms.  Charles  V.,  the 


FEDERAL    GOVERNMENT.  179 

mightiest  emperor  of  his  age,  the  ruler  of  one-half  of  the 
then  known  world, — Germany,  Hungary,  Bohemia,  Italy, 
Spain,  the  Netherlands,  part  of  Africa,  America  (then 
recently  discovered)  and  a  portion  of  India, — became  weary 
of  the  burden  of  such  a  mighty  realm  and  abdicated  in  favor 
of  his  son  and  his  brother,  retiring  to  a  monastery  in  Spain, 
where  he  died  after  six  years  of  seclusion  ;  there  was  dignity  in 
that  act.  The  most  appropriate  and  dignified  way  of  dispos- 
ing of  our  retiring  Presidents  would  assuredly  be  to  create 
them  members  of  the  Senate  for  the  rest  of  their  lives. 
In  this  way  they  would  not  only  occupy  a  most  honorable 
position  with  regard  to  their  own  dignity  and  the  satisfaction 
of  the  nation,  but  their  emoluments  as  Senators  would  keep 
them  from  want,  if  they  should  retire  poor, like  Jefferson  and 
others  after  him.  But  these  are  not  the  only  reasons  for  seat- 
ing them  in  the  Senate,  if  we  take  into  consideration  that  a 
four  years'  term  in  the  Presidential  chair  must  necessarily 
give  them  the  vastest  experience  and  a  precious  fund  of 
knowledge  of  all  our  national  and  foreign  affairs,  that  would 
prove  more  valuable  than  that  of  any  twelve  ordinary  Sena- 
tors combined.  There  are  seldom  more  than  one  or  two 
ex-Presidents  in  existence,  when  they  retire  from  office,  and 
the  trifling  emoluments  coming  to  them,  as  Senators  would  be 
hugely  compensated  by  their  further  most  valuable  services  to 
the  nation. 

During  the  course  of  several  official  visits  to  Washington, 
the  writer  has  had  ample  opportunity  to  observe  the  principal 
departments  of  the  Government  and  to  study  their  different 
systems,  thus  gathering  most  valuable  information.  People 
who  complain  of  ured  tape,"  know  but  little  of  the  mighty 
and  complicated  machinery  required  to  run  such  a  Govern- 
ment. The  system  of  accounts,  control  and  routine  in  the  differ- 
ent departments  is  almost  perfect  and  would  be  still  more  so 
were  it  not  for  the  continual  changes  in  officials  brought  about 
by  the  alternations  of  the  political  parties.  Long  before  the 
elections  approach  the  officials  become  agitated,  anxious  and 
afraid  of  the  sword  of  Damocles  suspended  over  their  devoted 
heads,  or  the  "political  ax,"  as  it  is  sometimes  called  in 


180  FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT. 

official  slang.  This  is  absolutely  wrong,  as  we  have  endeav- 
ored to  show  in  a  previous  chapter,  and  a  positive  injury  to 
the  public  service. 

One  of  the  commendable  features  that  lend  such  supe- 
riority to  the  American  Federal  Government  and  facilitate 
its  workings  to  an  amazing  degree,  is  the  liberal  system 
of  printing  carried  out  by  the  Bureau  of  Printing  and 
Engraving  belonging  to  the  Government.  Everything  that 
can  possibly  be  printed  in  the  shape  of  account,  record 
and  other  books,  blanks  of  all  possible  forms,  etc.,  is 
turned  out  by  that  great  and  useful  institution  for  the  better 
service  of  the  Government,  and  the  printing,  binding 
and  engraving  are  of  the  best  and  finest  kind.  In  this 
manner  a  great  deal  of  time  and  labor  is  saved  in  the  depart- 
ments at  Washington  and  in  all  the  Federal  offices  throughout 
the  country,  and  the  work  in  general  is  more  uniform  and 
correct  than  it  would  otherwise  be. 

We  have  found  the  officials  in  Washington  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest  grades,  with  but  a  few  exceptions,  gentlemen 
of  courtesy  and  marked  attention  to  their  duties.  There  is 
one  drawback,  however,  to  give  it  a  mild  name,  greatly 
hampering  the  transaction  of  the  public  business,  which  is  the 
vast  number  of  feminine  clerks  infesting  the  different  depart- 
ments. There  must  be  some  seven  hundred  in  the  Treasury 
Building  alone  and  thousands  more  in  the  other  buildings. 
There  are  continual  frictions,  jealousies  and  petty  acts  of 
unpleasantness  between  a  portion  of  the  women  themselves 
and  the  sterner  male  clerks.  We  have  witnessed  it  and  heard 
the  opinion  of  chiefs  of  divisions  as  well  as  plain  clerks  on  the 
subject,  which  is  decidedly  against  the  presence  of  the  women; 
but  they  are  powerless  and  have  no  choice,  most  of  the  women 
being  forced  on  the  Departments  by  the  Senators,  Represen- 
tatives and  other  persons  of  great  political  influence.  There 
are  some  very  quiet,  competent,  elderly  ladies  employed  as 
clerks,  etc.,  but  the  great  majority  are  unfit,  have  no  business 
there  and  should  be  discharged.  The  Government  of  the 
United  States  should  not  be  managed,  even  indirectly,  by 
women  ;  we  believe  there  are  still  able  men  enough  left  to  take 
care  of  it  in  the  most  efficient  manner. 


FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT.  181 

The  department  officials  in  Washington  and  in  the  other 
Federal  offices  throughout  the  country  are  faithful  and  honest, 
all  that  is  said  by  the  people  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 
Fraud,  embezzlement  and  defalcation  are  difficult  and  of  rare 
occurrence ;  the  control  by  the  auditors,  controllers  and 
special  agents  is  very  strict  and  complete.  Still  black  sheep 
will  be  found  in  a  large  flock,  and  in  this  connection  we  have 
to  find  fault  with  the  lengthy  trials,  languid  process  and  inade- 
quate punishment  of  the  offenders,  thus  again  pointing  out 
the  great  defects  in  the  entire  judicial  system  of  the  country, 
commencing  from  the  Supreme  Court  down  to  the  justices  of 
the  peace,  marshals,  sheriffs,  lawyers,  etc.,  etc.,  all  included. 
Law  and  the  proper  execution  of  it  is  the  true  base  on  which 
all  good  government  is  constructed,  else  it  must  sooner  or 
later  go  to  pieces.  If  our  feeble  efforts,  as  expressed  in  this 
book,  lead  to  any  kind  of  reform  in  this  direction,  we  shall  not 
have  labored  in  vain.  We  feel  convinced  that  the  entire  right- 
minded  portion  of  our  population  coincides  with  our  opinion 
on  this  subject,  if  not  on  any  of  the  other  theories  we  made  so 
free  as  to  express. 

With  great  reluctance  we  must  now  enter  on  another  most 
important  subject  relating  to  the  Federal  Government,  which 
i ;  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.  There  is  no  fault 
to  find  with  the  manner  of  electing  the  members  of  both 
Houses,  but  there  is  much  to.  blame  in  the  manner  of  carrying 
out  the  important  mandates  of  the  people,  who  have  elected 
and  sent  them  to  Washington,  paying  a  high  salary,  traveling 
expenses,  etc.,  for  very  poor  services.  Experience  has  shown, 
during  the  past  twenty  years,  that  we  have  too  many  Senators; 
one  Senator  from  each  State  would  make  a  sufficient  number 
to  transact  the^  business  incumbent  on  that  exalted  body, 
expedite  matters  and  reduce  the  public  expenses.  At  the 
time  of  the  election  of  a  Senator  by  the  respective  State  Leg- 
islatures, one  or  two  substitutes  should  be  elected,  in  case  of 
the  death  or  inability  of  the  Senator,  to  replace  him  at  once, 
which  would  obviate  the  improper  practice  of  a  Governor  ap- 
pointing an  objectionable  person  to  such  an  important  position 
for  an  unexpired  term,  that  might  extend  to  a  number  of  years. 


182  FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT. 

The  Senate  should  be  deprived  of  the  power  of  originating 
bills,  but  restrict  itself  to  examining  all  bills  passed  by  the 
House  of  Representatives,  accept  or  reject  them.  If  accepted, 
the  bill  should  go  to  the  President  for  his  signature  (no  veto), 
and  if  rejected,  be  returned  to  the  House  for  reconsideration; 
and  here  is  where  the  required  two-thirds  vote  would  be  in 
order.  As  long  as  bills  can  originate  in  both  Houses  of  Con- 
gress and  are  amended,  returned  and  again  amended  by  one 
or  the  other,  or  by  both,  playing  the  game  of  shuttlecock,  so 
long  will  our  legislators  never  accomplish  their  work,  clean  up 
the  entangled  mass  of  accumulated  matter  and  give  that  satis- 
faction to  the  revenue-paying  citizens  to  which  they  are  justly 
entitled.  As  it  is,  neither  the  Senate  nor  the  House  do  their 
full  duty  and  do  not  come  up  to  the  rightful  expectations  of 
the  nation. 

The  moment  a  man  enters  the  sacred  portals  of  the  Senate, 
he  should  leave  his  strong  party  feelings  behind  him,  adopt 
loftier  views  and  ever  bear  in  mind  that,  even  if  he  has  been 
sent  there  by  his  political  party  against  the  wishes  of  his 
opponents,  he  has  now  become  the  exalted  servitor  of  the  whole 
nation,  whose  welfare  should  be  considered  above  all  other 
things.  Unfortunately  this  is  but  rarely  the  case  with  our 
Senators.  Political  differences,  party  shades  and  sectional 
prejudice  have  some  causes  to  exist  in  the  Lower  House, 
though  even  there  they  should  not  predominate ;  but  the 
United  States  Senate  ought  to  be,  above  them  and  absolutely 
impartial,  or  better  have  no  Senate  at  all. 

Supposing  that  the  initiative  for  introducing  bills,  or  proj- 
ects for  legislation,  should  be  taken  from  the  Senate,  and  its 
functions  in  this  respect  restricted  to  passing  on  bills  already 
approved  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  there  would  still 
be  plenty  of  work  to  perform  by  the  Senate  :  the  examination 
of  treaties  with  foreign  countries;  the  appointment  of  Ambas- 
sadors, Ministers,  Consuls  and  agents  abroad,  of  the  Judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  of  all  United  States  Court  Officials,  army 
officers,  and  of  all  other  higher  employees  of  the  Government, 
established  by  law;  besides  a  host  of  other  executive  matters, 
all  of  which  require  the  approval  of  the  Senate,  before  they  can 
go  into  effect.  In  case  any  Senator  should  have  a  useful  and 


FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT.  183 

beneficial  measure  to  offer,  he  would  find  no  difficulty  what- 
ever in  getting  a  bill  introduced  into  the  lower  House  and 
duly  supported;  but  no  bill  ought  to  originate  in  the  bosom  of 
the  Senate.  The  evil  results  of  this  dual  initiative  have  been 
practically  proved,  and  our  people  are  tired  of  the  procrastina- 
tions, lack  of  conclusions  and  general  tomfoolery  prevailing 
in  Congress.  We  want  prompt  and  good  legislation  instead 
of  waste  of  time,  words  and  money. 


Article  I  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America  contains  a  clause  reading  :  ' '  Each  House  may  deter- 
mine the  Rules  of  its  Proceedings,  punish  its  members  for  dis- 
orderly Behaviour,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two- thirds, 
expel  a  Member."  This  clause  would  seem  as  plain  and 
effective  as  anything  can  be,  but  the  two  Houses  of  Congress 
have  not  yet  framed  all  the  necessary  rules  that  are  urgently 
needed  at  the  present  time.  Disorder  reigns  but  too  fre- 
quently in  the  Senate  as  well  as  in  the  House;  many  members 
conduct  themselves  in  a  shameful  and  undignified  manner 
during  the  sessions;  others  absent  themselves  without  leave 
and  neglect  the  sacred  duties  they  have  voluntarily  imposed 
on  themselves,  and  for  which  they  draw  ample  pay  and  emol- 
uments; others  do  not  deem  it  worth  while  to  attend  at  all 
during  a  whole  term,  or  condescend  to  do  so  only  for  a  few 
weeks,  to  cover  appearances.  There  seems  to  be  no  way  of 
enforcing  the  many  rules  laid  down  by  the  different  assemblies 
of  Congress.  It  frequently  happens  that  members,  not  content 
with  using  vulgar,  profane  and  unbecoming  language  toward 
each  other  and  of  failing  in  the  respect  due  to  the  presiding 
officer,  if  not  to  their  colleagues,  indulge  in  threatening  atti- 
tudes and  even  personal  encounters.  If  such  conduct  is 
already  disgraceful  in  a  primary  election  meeting,  it  becomes 
a  most  serious  offense  in  the  sacred  precincts -of  Congress,  and 
the  offenders  must  be  severely  dealt  with.  But  it  seems,  after 
the  most  disgraceful  scenes,  a  simple  apology  is  deemed  suffi- 
cient and  general!}'  accepted.  Offensive  and  disorderly  Sena- 
tors and  Congressmen  must  be  reprimanded,  fined,  suspended, 
or  expelled,  according  to  the  magnitude  of  the  trespass. 


184  FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT. 

During  the  course  of  our  extensive  travels  we  have  attended 
the  sessions  of  legislative  bodies  in  Mexico  and  Central  America, 
the  Reichsrath  in  Vienna,  the  Parliament  of  Rome,  that  of 
England,  France  and  Switzerland,  and  we  have  listened  to  fiery 
and  violent  debates  on  all  sorts  of  subjects  before  the  Houses;  we 
have  also  witnessed  disgraceful  proceedings  in  two  of  them, 
especially  in  France  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  which  we 
will  relate  presently ;  but  our  own  Congress,  which,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  we  have  not  neglected,  bears  the  palm  in 
disgraceful  scenes  and  disorderly  conduct.  There  may  be 
mitigating  circumstances  in  favor  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, the  members  of  which  are  generally  younger  men  and 
less  experienced  in  the  ways  of  parliamentary  discussions  and 
rules  ;  but  when  it  comes  to  the  Senate  there  is  no  excuse 
whatever  for  such  an  exalted  body  to  overstep  the  limits  of 
public  decency  and  propriety  and  indulge  in  rowdy  and 
disorderly  conduct.  The  Senate  often  presents  scenes  of  great 
confusion  and  disorder  ;  the  member  who  has  the  floor  is 
hardly  listened  to;  some  members  are  writing  notes  and  letters, 
others  reading,  others  chatting,  others  going  in  and  out,  as  if 
the  Chamber  were  a  pigeon-house.  The  speakers  should  be 
compelled  to  step  on  a  special  tribune,  if  they  have  any 
speeches  to  make ,  and  not  be  allowed  to  address  the  Senate 
from  their  desks.  This  desk  business  is  a  great  nuisance  and 
should  be  done  away  with,  as  it  distracts  the  honorable 
gentlemen  from  the  attention  due  to  the  matters  in  hand  and 
gives  them  all  sorts  of  opportunities  to  divert  themselves. 
Take  away  those  desks  and  oblige  the  Senators  to  listen,  or 
at  least  sit  quiet  during  the  sessions,  as  they  did  in  the  times 
of  Henry  Clay  and  Daniel  Webster.  We  are  only  surprised 
that  the  honorable  gentlemen  do  not  go  one  step  further  and 
provide  lounges  and  rocking-chairs  besides  the  huge  desks 
with  which  they  are  supplied  already.  If  they  want  to  do  any 
writing  let  them  go  to  the  rooms  set  apart  for  that  very 
purpose. 

Speaking  of  rules  of  procedure  and  government  within  the 
sacred  legislative  chambers,  those  in  force  in  the  French 
legislative  bodies,  especially  the  frequently  turbulent  Chamber 
of  Deputies,  in  so  striking  contrast  with  the  dignified  and 


FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT.  185 

well-regulated  Senate,  are  excellent  and  would  come  extremely 
handy  for  our  Congress,  in  which  both  Houses  seem  to  rival  in 
excesses.  The  penalties  there  are  :  first,  being  simply  called  to 
order;  second,  called  to  order  with  inscription  on  the  minutes; 
third,  suspension  for  one  or  more  sessions,  with  or  without  pay; 
and  last,  expulsion.  We  happened  to  be  present  at  a  stormy 
sitting  of  the  Chamber  in  Paris,  when  a  recalcitrant  Deputy, 
disregarding  the  repeated  calls  to  order,  was  condemned  by 
the  President,  with  the  approval  by  vote  of  the  Chamber,  to 
exclusion  from  fifteen  sessions  and  loss  of  one-half  of  his  pay 
for  two  months.  A  dose  of  this  kind  of  patent  medicine  would 
bring  great  relief  to  our  Congress  ! 

When  in  the  French  Chambers  the  disorder  becomes  too 
great  and  cannot  be  abated  by  ordinary  means,  the  President 
puts  on  his  hat,  which  signifies  an  immediate  suspension  of 
the  session,  and  leaves  the  hall.  There  have  been  exceptional 
cases,  when  the  punished  member  refused  to  leave  the  Chamber; 
the  remedy  then  applied  was  suspension  of  the  session, 
evacuation  of  the  Chamber  by  all  members  and  subsequent 
removal  of  the  fool  by  the  Colonel  in  charge  of  the  palace, 
aided  by  a  sufficient  guard.  Our  own  Capitol  in  Washington 
should  be  amply  protected  by  a  military  guard,  commanded 
by  an  officer  under  the  orders  of  the  President  of  the  Senate 
and  Speaker  of  the  House,  in  order  to  provide  against  all 
emergencies  and  the  intrusion  of  tramps,  fools  and  other 
obnoxious  elements,  that  come  to  interrupt  the  peace  of  the 
assemblies.  If  our  Senators  and  Representatives  absent 
themselves  on  private  business  for  more  than  one  week,  they 
should  not  receive  any  pay. 

No  member  of  Congress  of  either  House  should  be  arrested 
at  any  time  during  his  entire  term  of  office,  except  for  overt 
criminal  acts,  and  the  consent  of  the  respective  House  should 
be  necessary  to  try  him  in  any  court.  Such  tricks  as 
"no  quorum,"  filibustering,  tests  of  endurance  and  other 
subterfuges  to  defeat  prompt  action  on  the  part  of  the  two 
Rouses,  are  a  disgrace  to  the  bodies  and  should  be  stopped  by 
stringent  rules  also. 

We  have  an  unusual  number  of  millionaires  in  Congress. 
These  people  seldom  seek  the  honor  except  for  selfish  purposes, 


186  FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT. 

to  work  for  and  attain  certain  objects  in  favor  of  their  cor- 
porations and  private  speculations,  with  but  little  concern 
for  the  general  welfare.  Some  of  these  millionaires  seldom 
attend  the  sessions,  but  they  never  fail  to  draw  their  unearned 
pay  and  emoluments  ;  they  should  at  least  have  decency  enough 
to  relinquish  these. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  think  that  the  Senators  should  be 
elected  by  direct  vote  of  the  people.  We  have  already  bother 
and  trouble  enough  in  the  elections,  as  they  are  now  carried  on, 
and  verily  believe  that  a  State  Legislature  is  far  more  compe- 
tent to  choose  the  proper  person  for  the  Senate  in  Washington, 
than  the  mass  of  the  people,  who  know  him  only  by  hearsay 
and  by  the  one-sided  reports  of  biased  newspapers.  The  same 
powerful  reasons  already  stated  for  the  choice  of  President  by 
Congress  assembled,  obtain  in  the  case  of  the  Senators.  In 
France,  too,  a  strong  movement  is  on  foot  to  abolish  the  veto 
power  of  the  Senate.  It  is  not  deemed  proper  that  a  Senate 
elected  by  restricted  suffrage  should  have  the  right  to  hinder 
and  embarrass  the  action  of  the  lower  House,  elected  by  uni- 
versal vote  and  four  times  superior  in  numbers  to  the  Senate. 
In  England  the  Government  itself  has  given  the  signal  of 
revolt  against  the  House  of  L,ords,  and  that  body  will  certainly 
be  either  thoroughly  modified  or  abolished  altogether,  though 
the  latter  alternative  would  be  contrary  to  the  traditions  of 
Great  Britain  and  of  questionable  benefit. 


The  Federal  Government  places  its  condemned  prisoners  in 
the  State  correctional  institutions  and  pays  board  and  lodging 
for  them,  military  prisoners  excepted,  who  are  located  in 
military  prisons  to  serve  their  sentences.  Separate  prisons 
ought  to  be  erected  for  the  civil  portion  of  the  nation's 
offenders,  which  might  be  guarded  by  a  detachement  of  in- 
fantry and  be  thus  kept  on  an  independent  footing. 

There  are  a  number  of  periodicals  in  Washington  recording 
current  Government  events,  but  their  news  is  not  official  and 
authentic.  To  our  knowledge  only  the  Patent  Office  has  an 
official  organ,  called  the  "  Official  Gazette  ;  "  however,  it  deals 
only  on  matters  relating  to  inventions.  It  would  be  much 


FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT.  187 

better  for  the  Government  and  the  public,  if  an  "Official 
Gazette"  or  "United  States  Monitor"  were  published  daily, 
or  even  weekly  only,  containing  no  advertisements  of  any  kind, 
no  leading  articles,  no  commentaries,  but  simply  the  actual 
proceedings  of  Congress  when  in  session,  the  movements  of 
army  and  navy,  appointments  to  and  changes  in  Government 
circles  all  over  the  country,  the  doings  of  the  Supreme  Court 
and  the  various  departments,  and  such  other  items  as  may  be 
deemed  meet  and  proper  to  be  communicated  to  the  people. 
Such  a  publication  would  be  an  immense  success,  and  the 
expenses  largely  covered  by  a  hundred  thousand  subscriptions, 
the  very  least,  besides  obviating  the  great  annoyance  entailed 
on  the  various  officials  on  the  part  of  indiscreet  and  insatiable 
reporters  hanging  around  the  Departments.  Matters  that 
should  forever  remain  secret  for  diplomatic  and  international 
reasons,  or  only  be  published  at  the  proper  time,  have  frequently 
leaked  out  prematurely.  Presidential  messages  and  other 
important  documents  have  been  purloined,  to  the  great 
mortification  of  the  parties  concerned,  whilst  the  guilty 
reporters  and  their  employers  were  gloating  over  their  indecent 
success  and  the  doubtful  means  by  which  it  was  achieved. 
In  matters  of  State  not  everything  can  be  communicated  to 
the  general  public.  For  these  patent  reasons  an  "  Official 
Monitor"  would  be  the  very  best  thing,  and  the  news  published 
in  it  sufficient  for  all  hotiest  purposes.  From  this  the  papers 
could  copy  all  they  want,  and  need  not  be  at  all  ashamed  to 
get  such  official  news  second-hand.  It  matters  very  little 
whether  it  be  known  a  day  or  two  later  than  by  the  present 
loose  and  entirely  unreliable  system.  To-day  an  item  of  more 
or  less  importance  is  telegraphed;  to-morrow  it  is  contradicted 
or  modified,  and  the  reader  remains  in  doubt  about  the  real 
facts. 


The  Diplomatic  and  Consular  service  of  the  United  States  is 
very  defective  and  of  shameful  irregularity  ;  every  sensible 
man  knows  it.  In  this  manner  the  efficiency  of  such  an 
important  service  is  not  only  greatly  impaired,  but  we  also 
expose  ourselves  to  the  unfavorable  criticism  of  other  nations. 


188  FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT. 

Commencing  with  Benjamin  Franklin  down  to  a  recent  period, 
we  have  had  diplomatic  agents  abroad  that  were  an  ornament 
to  our  Government  and  second  to  none  of  other  countries  as  to 
their  brilliant  official  and  personal  qualities;  but  the  great 
majority  were  only  partly  fit  for  such  honorable  positions,  and 
not  a  few  a  disgrace  to  the  nation.  The  writer  became  person- 
ally acquainted  with  several  American  diplomats  abroad  who 
were  brilliant  exceptions  ;  two  of  them  the  sons  of  two  of  the 
greatest  men  in  our  history,  and  another  one  most  eminently 
qualified  as  a  gentleman  and  scholar  for  the  distinguished 
office  intrusted  to  him ;  all  three  becoming  special  favorites 
not  only  with  the  Governments  they  had  been  accredited  to, 
but  also  with  the  highest  classes  of  society.  Unfortunately  we 
had  to  meet,  on  the  other  hand,  several  sad  specimens  of 
American  Ministers,  Consuls- General  and  Consuls,  representing 
our  great  country,  who  had  better  have  remained  at  home  in 
their  proper  sphere  than  to  have  been  called  from  their  second- 
class  law  office,  country  editorial  chair  or  bigoted  pulpit  to 
assume  important  diplomatic  functions,  of  which  they  had 
no  more  notion  than  a  cat  has  of  a  chronometer. 

We  will  here  relate  a  strange  diplomatic  incident  that 
happened  years  ago  in  one  of  the  Spanish-American  Republics, 
the  writer  being  present  as  Secretary  of  Legation.  Our 
Minister  had  arrived  at  the  capital  after  a  week's  travel  on 
horseback,  wearing  a  black  dress  coat  and  glazed  cap.  His 
reception  at  the  palace  took  place  the  following  morning, 
when  his  luggage  had  not  yet  come  up ;  but  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  present  himself  before  the  President,  his  cabinet, 
the  high  functionaries  and  diplomatic  corps,  in  that  travel- 
stained  dress-coat,  looking  extremely  shabby.  Not  accustomed 
to  the  ceremonies  usual  on  such  an  occasion,  our  Knvoy 
stopped  in  the  middle  of  the  Audience  Hall,  and,  not  knowing 
what  to  do  with  his  glazed  cap,  deposited  it  on  the  floor  by 
his  side.  The  situation  was  ridiculous  and  very  painful,  but 
the  President  came  to  his  relief  good-naturedly  and  overlooked 
the  breach  of  etiquette.  Similar  incidents  have  happened  in 
other  capitals,  in  which  American  diplomats  were  the 
conspicuous  actors. 


FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT.  189 

Some  persons  are  born  diplomats  ;  but  notwithstanding  this 
advantage,  long  and  careful  training  is  necessary  to  fit  one  for 
this  delicate  and  honorable  career.  For  this  reason  the  diplo- 
matic service  in  other  countries  is  treated  as  a  distinct  branch, 
in  which  candidates  enter  the  lower  grades,  become  Attaches, 
Secretaries  of  Legation,  Vice-Consuls,  Consuls-General,  Envoys 
and  Ambassadors,  according  to  their  more  or  less  rapid 
advancement  and  their  individual  merit  and  qualifications. 
An  American  Consul,  Minister,  or  Envoy  should  know 
either  the  language  of  the  country  he  is  sent  to,  or  in  place 
thereof,  French  at  least,  which  is  so  universally  spoken  in 
official  circles  ;  if  not,  they  have  to  submit  to  the  humiliating 
intervention  of  interpreters,  and  the  object  of  an  interview  with 
the  foreign  official  is  in  peril  of  not  being  properly  accom- 
plished. Several  of  our  diplomatic  agents  to  Spanish- American 
Republics  were  quite  successful  and  well  received  on  account 
of  some  knowledge  of  the  Castilian  language,  which  enabled 
them  to  converse  with  the  officials  without  the  aid  of  an 
interpreter.  It  is  an  immense  mistake  to  recall  our  ministers 
and  consuls  after  every  political  change,  in  order  to  give  their 
positions  to  incompetent  and  often  unworthy  persons,  as  a 
compensation  for  electioneering  services  or  pecuniary  contri- 
butions in  favor  of  their  party.  We  have  quite  a  number  of 
foreign  missions  for  which  there  is  not  the  slightest  need ; 
these  should  be  suppressed.  In  such  countries  a  Consul-Gen- 
eral,  or  simple  Consul,  would  amply  suffice  for  the  limited 
diplomatic  business  that  might  perhaps  turn  up  at  some  time. 
In  cases  of  serious  complications  a  Special  Envoy  might  be  in 
order,  to  be  recalled  as  soon  as  his  mission  is  accomplished. 
Three  or  four  ministers  for  the  whole  of  Europe  should  be 
sufficient,  with  the  necessary  staff  of  secretaries  and  attaches 
well  versed  in  the  necessary  languages  and  in  general  diplo- 
matic matters. 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  in  Congress  to  reform  and 
improve  the  diplomatic  and  consular  service,  so  as  to  render  it 
efficient,  useful  and  ornamental  at  the  same  time  ;  but  all 
these  efforts  were  in  vain  and  will  be  fruitless  as  long  as  the 
periodical  ' '  removal  cancer  ' '  is  gnawing  the  political  vitals  of 
this  great  country  and  as  long  as  "  Vce  victis ' '  is  the  motto 


190  FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT. 

(' '  To  the  victor  belong  the  spoils"),  without  the  slightest  regard 
to  the  merit  of  the  candidates  for  office  and  the  advancement  of 
the  public  service.  Newspaper  opinions  and  admonitions  on 
public  matters  are  of  very  little  benefit;  the  people  have 
become  indifferent  to  their  erratic  and  chameleon-like  utter- 
ances. 

' '  No  person  in  the  diplomatic  service  of  the  United  States 
shall  wear  any  uniform,  or  official  costume,  not  previously 
authorized  by  Congress, ' '  is  one  of  the  rules  of  this  branch  of 
the  public  service.  We  have  personally  heard  several  of  our 
foreign  envoys  complain  of  this  provision,  which  has  become 
traditionary  in  our  customs.  Perhaps  it  would  be  better  for 
the  State  Department  to  follow  the  universal  custom  and 
adopt  some  sort  of  distinguishing  costume  for  our  diplomatic 
agents  abroad.  Benjamin  Franklin  invented  his  famous  black 
velvet  suit  for  court  service  in  Paris  and  wore  a  light  sword  ; 
but  those  were  the  times  of  knee  breeches  and  pigtails,  by  far 
less  stupid,  ridiculous  and  impractical  than  the  male  dress  of 
the  present  period.  It  is  indeed  inconceivable  how  it  was 
reserved  for  the  nineteenth  century  with  its  inventions  and 
progress  to  invent  and  adhere  to  such  a  system  of  wearing 
apparel,  including  the  horrible  stovepipe  hat  and  the  long 
pantaloons,  after  mankind  had  been  dressing  decently  for  five 
thousand  years. 

If  there  is  any  august  tribunal  on  our  globe  from  which 
there  is  no  appeal  but  to  the  Creator,  whose  decisions  are 
seldom  known  to  mortal  man  in  his  lifetime,  it  is  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  ;  if  it  is  not,  it  ought  to  be  !  The 
framers  of  our  unique  Constitution  have  made  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  Supreme  Justices  "ad  vitam"  precisely  for  the 
purpose  of  placing  them  above  the  vulgar  vicissitudes  of  party 
politics,  and  thus  make  them  permanent,  unattackable  and 
beyond  even  the  suspicion  of  corruption.  Had  they  been 
able,  in  the  purity  of  their  hearts  and  the  honesty  of  their 
purpose,  to  foresee  what  disgraceful  elements  would  creep  into 
even  the  Supreme  Court  and  tarnish  its  splendid  glory,  they 
would  have  surrounded  it  with  still  greater  protection  from 


FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT.  191 

any  such  possible  contamination.  The  United  States  Supreme 
Court  consists  of  nine  members,  one  of  whom  bears  the  title  of 
Chief  Justice  and  presides.  Their  pay  and  emoluments  are 
quite  sufficient  ;  neither  do  they  seem  to  exert  themselves  to 
any  extraordinary  extent,  taking  their  duties,  business  and 
things  very  easy  ; — too  easy  altogether,  considering  the  enor- 
mous mass  of  business  which  has  accumulated  during  so  many 
years,  and  which  they  will  never  get  through,  unless  relief 
comes  in  some  shape  by  modifying  their  functions  and  by 
increasing  their  number  to  thirteen,  a  lucky  number  for  the 
United  States  of  North  America  at  least. 

The  United  States  Supreme  Court  has  jurisdiction  over 
controversies  of  a  civil  nature  where  a  State  is  party,  but 
not  between  a  State  and  its  citizens,  or  between  a  State  and 
citizens  of  another  State,  or  aliens,  in  which  latter  cases  it  has 
original  but  not  exclusive  jurisdiction  ;  jurisdiction  over 
suits  against  ambassadors,  or  other  public  ministers,  or  their 
employees  ;  it  has  power  to  issue  writs  of  prohibition  in  the 
District  Courts  and  writs  of  mandamus  to  any  United  States 
Court ;  appeals  from  the  decisions  of  these  courts  ;  and  in 
brief,  judicial  power  in  all  cases  in  I^aw  and  Equity  arising 
under  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution,  the  statutes  of  the 
United  States  and  the  treaties  made.  The  theory  and  practical 
working  of  this  august  tribunal  are  thus  fully  prescribed  by 
the  fundamental  code  of  the  nation  ;  but  times  alter  circum- 
stances, and  when  it  is  seen  that  our  Supreme  Court  is  no 
longer  able,  on  account  of  the  limited  number  of  nine  justices 
and  the  immense  increase  in  the  public  business,  to  perform  ifs 
duties  properly,  reform  has  become  absolutely  necessary  in  this 
the  highest  and  most  sacred  department  of  the  Federal 
Government.  There  should  be  a  limit  of  age  for  the  retire- 
ment of  the  justices  on  half  pay,  or  when  they  become 
physically  or  mentally  incapacitated  to  perform  their  duties. 
There  are  several  members  of  the  Supreme  Court  who  should 
have  resigned  years  ago  for  the  latter  causes. 

The  comments  made  in  the  third  chapter  of  this  book  on 
the  functions  of  the  Supreme  Court  properly  belong  to  this 
division ;  but  it  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  them  here, 


192  FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT. 

further  than  to  again  emphasize  the  necessity  of  prompt 
decisions  by  all  courts,  commencing  with  the  lowest  State  court 
and  ending  with  the  highest  tribunal  of  the  land.  By  this 
process  alone,  and  by  none  other,  can  the  majesty  of  the  law  be 
upheld,  and  that  awe,  respect  and  implicit  obedience  to  all 
the  statutes  be  insured,  which  form  the  strongest  basis  of  all 
governments.  Delays,  procrastination,  chicanery  and  subter- 
fuges in  judicial  matters  only  irritate  the  people  and  bring  the 
law  into  disrepute,  at  the  same  time  affording  the  so-called 
1 '  legal  profession  ' '  the  desired  opportunites  and  a  golden 
harvest. 

The  Supreme  Court  has  the  power  to  nullify  and  set  aside 
such  acts  of  Congress  as  are  contrary  to  the  spirit  and  text  of 
the  Constitution.  This  is  perfectly  in  order  ;  but  our  Supreme 
Court  should  derive  its  information  concerning  the  unconstitu- 
tionality  of  a  bill  passed  by  Congress  from  other  sources  than 
from  the  spiteful  protest  and  foolish  arguments  of  any  legal 
shyster,  who,  at  the  end  of  all  his  resources  in  a  case,  often 
resorts  to  this  subterfuge,  the  same  as  he  is  accustomed  to  do 
with  the  "  insanity"  plea;  it  is  he  who  is  generally  insane, 
not  the  client. 

There  is  one  case  unforeseen  and  not  provided  for  in  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  of  North  America.  In  the 
present  seemingly  endless  conflict  between  the  principal 
political  parties  and  with  the  unpleasant  prospect  of  further 
complications  arising,  with  the  sad  example  set  by  the  present 
Congress,  the  action  of  one  or  the  other  House  may  at  any  time 
become  paralyzed,  if  not  entirely  blocked,  or  as  the  parliamen- 
tary slang  has  it,  "deadlocked,"  without  any  prospect  of 
one  side  yielding  to  reasonable  argument  or  the  stronger 
voice  of  true  patriotism.  What  then  ?  The  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  should  have  the  power,  upon  the  demand 
of  the  President,  supported  by  the  Senate,  or  the  House  of 
Representatives,  to  dissolve  the  impotent,  dissenting,  or 
mutinous  body  and  immediately  order  new  elections  in  order 
to  restore  peace  and  harmony  in  Congress  and  expedite  the 
transaction  of  business  put  in  jeopardy  by  the  impotent 
House  or  Senate.  A  contingency  of  this  sort  is  hardly  likely 


FEDERAL    GOVERNMENT. 


193 


to  happen;  still,  is  it  not  much  better,  if  a  case  of  such  tran- 
scendent importance,  equal  to  a  national  calamity,  should 
occur,  to  have  the  remedy  already  enacted,  than  to  risk  chaos 
and  confusion,  as  in  certain  Presidential  elections,  that  came 
pretty  near  resulting  in  a  new  sanguinary  civil  war  of  gigantic 
proportions  and  the  disruption  of  our  great  Republic  ? 


IX.    UNITED  STATES  ARMY. 

"\TJ1TH  a  sigh  of  relief  and  a  feeling  of  satisfaction  we  have 
VV  now  reached  the  last  chapter  of  our  self-inflicted  task: 
the  United  States  Army.  As  the  traveler,  after  crossing  a  high 
and  rugged  range  of  mountains,  deep  gulches  and  ravines, 
swift  and  dangerous  torrents,  emerges  finally  from  his  hard- 
ships and  fatigue  and  sees  before  him  the  goal  of  his  weary 
journey,  so  do  we  rejoice  to  have  reached  the  object  of  our 
taste  and  inclination,  the  Army.  Here  we  have  hardly  any 
fault  to  find,  although  we  will  pass  the  necessary  comments. 
Of  the  few  stable  and  permanent  institutions  of  this  great 
Republic  the  Army  is  the  most  important  in  all  respects.  Our 
people  in  general  know  but  little  of  the  United  States  Army  : 
now  'and  then  a  brief  notice  of  some  change  of  superior  com- 
mand, promotion,  or  retirement  of  officers  ;  more  frequently 
the  sarcastical,  unjust  and  arbitrary  criticism  of  our  newspapers 
on  some  event  or  other  in  garrison  life,  if  it  be  sensa- 
tional enough  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  reporters.  It  is 
therefore  a  most  agreeable  duty  for  the  writer  to  give  the  kind 
and  indulgent  reader  some  information,  at  least,  on  this  very 
interesting  subject. 

Of  the  United  States  Navy  we  have  made  mention  already 
and  have  but  little  to  say  ;  it  is  a  branch  of  the  public  service 
of  which  we  do  not  know  enough  to  discuss  it  fairly  and 
intelligently.  We  may  say,however,  that  we  have  had  frequent 
opportunity  to  visit  United  States  men-of-war  in  different 
foreign  ports,  and  that  we  had  the  honor  of  being  acquainted 
since  our  youth  with  naval  officers,  several  of  whom  rose 
subsequently  to  high  rank  in  the  Navy,  and  those  yet  living 
will  remember  the  episodes.  The  officers  of  our  Navy  are 
gentlemen  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word  and  second  to  none 
of  other  navies  in  scientific  and  technical  knowledge.  We 
seldom  hear  of  the  loss  of  American  war  vessels.  The  officers 
of  our  Navy  acquire  a  particular  polish  and  courteous  manners 
by  their  travels  abroad  and  contact  with  high  officials,  as 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  195 

well  as  of  refined  society,  in  foreign  countries.  Promotion, 
however,  is  too  slow  and  makes  it  almost  hopeless  for  a 
Lieutenant  to  ever  attain  the  rank  and  emoluments  of  Cap- 
tain, before  he  is  himself  too  old  to  enjoy  such  an  improved 
position  for  more  than  a  few  years.  We  require  a  great  many 
naval  officers  of  the  fullest  competency  in  case  of  foreign  com- 
plications ;  such  officers  cannot  be  supplied  by  the  merchant 
service  nowadays  with  the  complicated  contrivances  of  the 
modern  war  ships  and  scientific  artillery,  torpedoes,  etc. 
There  is  a  remedy  for  more  rapid  promotion ;  leave  only  the 
younger,  strong  and  able  officers  in  active  service  on  board 
the  vessels  and  assign  the  older  to  shore  duty,  where  there 
is  almost  as  extensive  a  field  for  their  most  valuable  services, 
enhanced  by  years  of  practical  duty  on  board,  as  there  is 
in  the  active  line.  The  Navy  Department  at  Washington 
and  the  yards  in  different  parts  of  the  country  can  easily 
absorb  five  hundred  officers  for  shore  duty,  available  in  case  of 
danger.  They  would  be  more  useful  than  the  many  civilians 
employed  in  these  departments.  No  officer  of  the  Navy 
should  be  assigned  to  shore  duty  unless  he  has  done  at  least 
ten  years  of  sea  duty,  tempered  by  an  occasional  leave  of 
absence  of  a  couple  of  months,  according  to  the  nature  of  his 
service.  In  former  years,  Lieutenants  of  our  Navy  were 
granted  leave  of  absence  to  enable  them  to  take  command  of 
steamers  conveying  the  United  States  mails,  their  govern- 
ment pay  ceasing  during  such  leave.  This  practice  might 
have  been  continued  in  order  to  give  more  of  the  younger 
officers  active  sea  practice. 


The  writer  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  study,  in  an  official 
capacity,  the  principal  military  systems  of  Europe  and  several 
American  Republics,  and  to  admire  the  appearance,  organi- 
zation, outfit,  armament  and  vast  numbers  of  the  European 
troops.  But  a  few  years  ago  he  witnessed  the  massing  of 
an  army  of  120,000  men  with  600  pieces  of  field  artillery 
within  a  square  of  less  than  two  miles  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  France.  With  these  vast  armies,  however,  we  have 
nothing  to  do  in  this  work.  Their  numbers  are  excessive. 


196  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

Bven  admitting  that  a  numerous  standing  army  is  necessary 
to  uphold  the  governments  of  Europe,  and  to  guard  against 
the  latent  dangers  of  uprisings,  revolutions,  sacking  and 
plundering  on  the  part  of  the  "disinherited  of  fortune,"  as 
Victor  Hugo  calls  them,  the  number  of  troops  of  the  line  kept 
under  arms  is  still  by  far  in  excess  of  what  is  needed  for 
the  defense  of  the  frontiers  and  protection  of  life  and  property. 

Here  again  the  Swiss  Republic  takes  the  palm.  Before 
entering  on  the  subject  of  our  own  Army  we  think  it  proper 
and  of  interest  to  the  kind  reader  to  give  a  brief  account  of  the 
admirable  military  system  of  Switzerland,  which,  however, 
would  not  be  suitable  to  any  other  form  of  government  but  a 
democratic  Republic,  or  perhaps  a  completely  constitutional 
monarchy,  in  which  the  ruler  is  but  an  hereditary  President 
with  absolutely  limited  powers.  There  is  no  standing  or 
regular  army  in  Switzerland,  nor  does  she  need  any.  Yet 
every  citizen  is  a  trained  soldier,  classified  and  assigned, 
available  at  any  time,  if  he  is  called  into  service,  and  a  formi- 
dable factor  to  count  with.  He  not  only  allies  personal 
physical  vigor  to  the  necessary  military  training,  but  is  also 
possessed  of  valor,  endurance  and  above  all,  the  most  ardent 
patriotism.  These  inestimable  qualifications  of  the  Swiss 
have  been  illustrated  hundreds  of  times  in  their  history.  If 
these  hardy  mountaineers  in  the  middle  ages  were  able  to 
repel  all  invasions  of  hosts  superior  in  numbers,  means  and 
armament,  and  to  win  such  brilliant  and  overwhelming  battles 
as  Morgarten,  Sempach,  Nafels,  Grandson,  Murten,  etc., 
etc.,  when  their  country  was  small  and  hardly  united, 
without  resources  and  allies,  what  must  not  be  their  present 
power,  closely  united  in  one  solid  body,  amply  supplied  with 
means  and  fitted  out  with  the  most  improved  armament? 
Certainly  not  inferior  to  their  might  and  strength  of  former 
times,  and  their  incomparable  natural  defenses  have  not  been 
altered. 

Switzerland  is  bordered  by  Germany  on  the  north,  Austria 
on  the  east,  Italy  on  the  south  and  France  on  the  west.  The 
neutrality  and  inviolability  of  her  territory  have  been  guar- 
anteed by  these  powers  ;  neither  is  there  any  desire  on  the 
part  of  either  of  them  to  encroach  on  the  rights  of  Switzerland, 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  197 

or  to  covet  a  portion  of  her  territory,  all  points  on  which 
the  glorious  little  cradle  of  modern  liberty  will  allow  no 
interference  of  any  sort  and  under  any  pretext  whatever. 
Prussia  tried  to  despoil  Switzerland  some  forty  years  ago  by 
laying  claim  to  the  Canton  of  Neufchatel,  but  the  scheme 
would  not  work  ;  and  only  recently  the  Imperial  Government 
of  Germany  made  some  unjust  demands  on  her  with  regard  to 
the  anarchist  question,  only  to  find  out  that  the  Swiss  are  as 
firm  in  the  support  of  their  rights  as  are  the  foundations  of 
the  famous  Mount  Pilatus  near  Lucerne. 

Notwithstanding  the  lack  of  a  regular  standing  army  in  Swit- 
zerland and  the  absence  of  garrisons  in  her  capital  and  large 
cities,  the  country  enjoys  absolute  internal  peace  and  security; 
a  handful  of  policemen  and  gendarmes  is  sufficient  to  preserve 
order.  This  is  in  most  striking  contrast  with  most  of  the  other 
capital  cities  of  Kurope.  Paris,  Vienna,  Berlin  and  Rome  for 
instance  have  an  average  garrison  of  ten  thousand  troops  of 
the  line  at  least,  at  all  times.  Supposing  for  a  moment  that 
these  garrisons  were  withdrawn  for  some  reason,  with  no 
prospect  of  a  speedy  return,  the  lower  classes  would  rise  at 
once,  proclaim  a  republic  and  probably  sack  and  plunder 
banks,  stores,  depots  and  government  buildings ;  enough 
blood  would  be  shed  in  a  few  hours  to  flow  in  the  gutters. 

The  military  establishment  of  Switzerland,  efficient  for  all 
effects  and  purposes  as  it  is,  has  the  overwhelming  advantage 
of  cheapness,  as  compared  with  the  exorbitant  budgets  of  other 
States.  In  the  fiscal  year  of  1892,  for  instance,  the  military 
expenses  of  the  Confederation  were  52,756,008  francs  (about 
ten  millions  of  dollars)  for  an  army  of  two  hundred  thousand 
available  men,  and  in  this  amount  were  included  several 
millions  extra  appropriations  for  fortifications  found  to  be 
necessary  to  complete  the  system  of  the  national  defense, 
amongst  which  may  be  counted  the  magnificent  works  on  the 
St.  Gotthard  mountain  toward  the  Italian  frontier. 

The  only  real  danger  to  Switzerland  exists  in  the  hostile 
disposition  latent  among  the  powerful  neighboring  States, — 
France  on  the  one  hand  and  the  triple  alliance  on  the  other. 
Germany,  Austria  and  Italy  combined  and  sincerely  faithful  to 
their  compact,  would  no  doubt  be  a  most  formidable  foe  to 


198  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

combat ;  yet,  with  the  aid  of  a  powerful  French  army, 
Switzerland  might  again  destroy  such  vast  invading  hosts  and 
these  share  the  sad  fate  of  Duke  Leopold  of  Austria  and 
Charles  of  Burgundy,  whose  armies  were  not  only  utterly 
defeated  by  the  Swiss,  but  themselves  slain  like  common 
troopers  on  the  battlefield.  The  principal  and  almost  exclusive 
military  aim  of  the  Swiss  Government  is  to  secure  a  perfect 
system  of  defense,  to  insure,  and  if  need  be  enforce,  her  neu- 
trality and  the  inviolability  of  her  territory,which,  moreover,  is 
so  admirably  adapted  by  nature,  on  account  of  her  mountains 
and  passes,  to  resist  a  tenfold  superior  enemy,  the  Swiss 
soldiers  being  supported  by  the  most  ardent  patriotism,  and 
what  is  still  more  valuable,  the  deadly  skill  of  these  people 
with  the  rifle.  Woe  unto  the  army  that  ventures  into  such  a 
trap  and  at  the  present  time  ! 

For  the  reasons  just  stated  the  army  organization  of  Switzer- 
land differs  entirely  from  the  systems  prevailing  in  other 
countries  of  Europe.  If  she  does  not  require  and  cannot  afford 
the  questionable  luxury  of  a  standing  army,  on  the  other  hand 
nothing  has  been  neglected  by  the  Swiss  Government,  in 
accordance  with  the  Federal  Constitution,  to  render  the  system 
of  organization  and  means  of  defense  as  complete  and  perfect 
as  possible.  Here  we  have  no  useless  experimenting,  ex- 
travagant and  foolish  waste  of  funds;  the  military  questions 
are  studied  by  thoroughly  competent .  and  honest  officers, 
reported  on,  and  quick  resolution  and  action  follow  right  off. 
A  comparatively  small  force  only  is  necessary  in  time  of  peace 
to  train  and  prepare  all  the  citizens  liable  to  military  service, 
and  yet  this  small  force  permits  the  formation  of  a  powerful 
army  in  case  of  war  or  internecine  troubles. 

The  Military  Department  of  the  Federal  Council,  residing  in 
Bern,  the  capital  of  the  Confederation,  exercises  the  supreme 
military  authority  in  the  Republic  and  over  the  local  military 
authorities  of  the  several  Cantons. 

Every  able-bodied  man  having  attained  the  age  of  twenty 
years  is  liable  to  military  service,  cripples,  blind,  and  weak 
constitutions  alone  excepted.  The  military  training  is  short 
but  careful,  and  embraces  all  that  is  necessary  to  make  a 
staunch  and  well-disciplined  defender  of  the  soil ;  the  young 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  199 

men  take  to  it  very  willingly  and  with  the  evident  satisfaction 
of  fulfilling  a  sacred  duty  ;  the  short  period  of  drilling  and 
theoretical  instruction,  as  well  as  the  temporary  change  of 
residence  and  habits,  afford  them  recreation  and  enjoyment. 
The  new  recruit  first  enters  an  establishment  called  the  School 
of  Recruits  for  a  period  of  from  two  to  three  months,  according 
to  the  arm  of  the  service  he  has  been  assigned  to.  Their 
instructors  are  highly  competent,  experienced  and  humane 
officers  and  non-commissioned  officers,  who  have  also  charge 
of  the  repetition  courses  that  take  place  every  third  year,  when 
the  men  are  called  out  again;  these  repetition  courses  last  but 
a  few  weeks.  The  officers,  as  a  matter  of  course,  meet  more 
frequently  and  for  longer  terms,  their  instruction  being  much 
more  complicated  and  elaborate  than  that  of  the  men.  During 
their  term  of  active  service  the  soldiers  are  found  and  paid  by 
the  Government.  The  total  military  liability  is  thirty  years  ; 
of  these,  thirteen  years  must  be  rendered  to  the  first  class 
("  Auszug  "),  twelve  years  in  the  reserve  ("  Landwehr  "),  and 
five  years  in  the  ban  ("  I^andsturm  ").  The  latter  class 
comprises  all  able-bodied  Swiss  citizens  from  the  age  of 
seventeen  to  fifty  years,  who  have  not  been  called  in,  or  who 
have  been  discharged  from  the  other  two  classes.  The  time  of 
service  for  the  officers  is  much  longer,  since  they  are  subject  to 
duty  in  the  last  reserve  up  to  the  age  of  fifty-five  years.  All 
those  who  have  been  exempted  from  military  service  are 
obliged  to  pay  a  military  exemption  tax,  the  amount  of  which 
varies  according  to  the  circumstances  of  each  individual. 

The  officers  of  the  Swiss  Army  receive  their  first  training  in 
the  Officers'  Preparatory  School,  after  which  the  study  of 
special  branches  of  the  service  is  assigned  to  them,  the  final 
ordeal  of  examination  being  very  strict.  No  less  efficient 
schools  are  provided  for  the  education  and  proper  training  of 
the  non-commissioned  officers  in  each  division  district.  All 
these  establishments  are  of  the  highest  standard,  earnest  study 
and  no  tomfoolery  being  the  rule  and  practice  there.  The 
early  military  training  of  the  young  men  of  Switzerland  is 
still  further  promoted  by  a  number  of  military  schools  and 
academies,  which  are  much  frequented,  and  by  the  no  less 
important  and  quite  numerous  associations  of  sharpshooters, 


200  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

who  practice  continually  on  targets  of  different  kinds  and  have 
acquired  for  the  Swiss  the  formidable  reputation  of  being  the 
first  shots  in  the  whole  world.  In  case  of  war  the  Swiss 
soldiers  would  not  have  to  waste  as  many  bullets  as  their 
opponents,  and  the  proportion  of  ten  thousand  of  these  latter 
slain,  against  seven  hundred  Swiss,  as  in  former  times,  would 
most  likely  be  repeated  on  all  occasions.  The  officers,  moreover, 
attend  frequent  meetings  called  for  the  purpose  of  exchanging 
views,  for  scientific  discussions  and  good-fellowship. 

There  being  no  need  of  a  standing  army  in  Switzerland,  as 
is  more  or  less  the  case  with  the  surrounding  States,  including 
the  mighty  French  Republic,  the  number  of  permanent  and 
professional  soldiers  is  limited  to  the  quantity  required  for  the 
fundamental  formation  of  the  army,  the  corps  of  instructors, 
the  guarding  of  depots,  barracks,  arsenals  and  magazines,  and 
the  permanent  Staff  of  Officers,  whose  special  duty,  aside  from 
the  general  supervision  of  the  service,  is  the  study  of  arms, 
equipment,  accouterments,  ammunition,  ordnance  and  all 
matters  appertaining  to  the  art  of  war  and  fortification.  This 
staff  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  that  can  be  found  in  any 
country,  and  the  Confederation  may  be  justly  proud  of  it. 
The  Swiss  Army  has  no  Generals  ;  the  highest  military  rank  is 
Colonel ;  in  case  of  war  the  Federal  Assembly  elects  a 
Commander-in-Chief  with  the  title  of  General,  which  remains 
with  the  incumbent  ever  afterwards.  Brigades  and  divisions 
are  commanded  by  Colonels. 

Switzerland  is  divided  into  eight  divisionary  districts,  each 
of  which  furnishes  one  division  of  the  first  draft  ("Auszug"), 
consisting  of  twelve  battalions  of  infantry,  one  battalion  of 
sharpshooters,  one  regiment  of  cavalry  of  three  squadrons 
each,  one  brigade  of  artillery  with  six  batteries,  one  battalion 
of  engineers  and  the  requisite  number  of  train,  medical  and 
camp  service.  The  reserve  troops  ("  Landwehr  ")  are  organized 
in  a  similar  manner  in  eight  divisions,  which,  added  to  the 
eight  divisions  of  the  first  draft,  makes  the  formidable  total  of 
sixteen  divisions  of  troops  of  the  line,  which  on  a  war  footing 
is  about  two  hundred  thousand  men.  The  third  ban  ("L,and- 
sturm"),  only  called  out  in  extreme  emergencies,  would  amount 
to  as  many  more. 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  201 

The  Swiss  armament  is  always  up  to  the  most  improved 
system.  Two  years  ago  the  troops  were  supplied  with  a  new 
rifle  of  small  caliber,  of  deadly  effect  in  the  hands  of  such 
superior  marksmen.  The  field  artillery  is  of  the  Krupp  pattern, 
consisting  of  8.4  centimetre  cast-steel  ring- guns.  The  heavy 
or  fortification  artillery  of  twenty-five  companies  is  not 
included  in  the  above  formation  of  divisions.  Foreseeing  the 
possible,  though  not  very  probable,  danger  of  an  invasion  of 
her  territory,  in  spite  of  the  guaranteed  neutrality,  on  the  part 
of  foreign  troops  for  purposes  of  strategy,  or  simple  transit 
only,  the  Swiss  Government  has  gone  to  work  quietly  for  the 
past  ten  years  to  strongly  fortify  the  principal  passes  and 
strategical  positions.  The  magnificent  fortifications  of  the 
St.  Gotthard,  for  which  no  expense  has  been  spared,  are  nearly 
completed  now. 

The  Swiss  soldiers  on  the  streets  and  in  the  ranks  do  not 
present  that  stiff  appearance  and  proud  exterior  of  the  soldiers 
of  several  of  the  other  European  armies,  the  Germans  being  in 
the  front  in  that  respect,  bound  by  a  discipline  of  iron  and  steel. 
Nor  are  their  uniforms  as  shiny  and  handsome  ;  but  in  point  of 
real  military  qualifications,  force  of  endurance,  solid  valor  and 
patriotism  of  the  most  ardent  kind,  the  Swiss  cannot  be  sur- 
passed. Theirs  is  an  army  of  free  citizens,  not  coerced  into 
the  service  nor  paid  as  hirelings,  but  looking  upon  their  com. 
paratively  light  and  short  service  as  an  agreeable  sacrifice 
to  their  country.  When  the  employees  of  commerce  and 
trades  and  the  laborers  and  farmhands  are  called  into  the 
service  for  the  first  and  rotary  exercises,  their  places  are  kept 
open  for  them  until  their  return  home,  their  wages  going  on 
just  the  same,  as  injustice  they  ought  to  go  on. 

The  uniform  of  the  Swiss  Army  is  somewhat  like  that  of  our 
own  United  States  Army:  Dark-blue  tunic  and  pantaloons  of 
a  lighter  blue ;  their  head-cover,  a  sort  of  kepi  with  two 
visors,  may  be  strong  and  practical,  but  it  is  not  very  pretty. 
The  officers  wear  shoulder  straps  similar  to  those  used  by  our 
own  officers  in  undress,  by  which  their  relative  rank  may  be 
distinguished.  A  peculiar  feature  of  the  Swiss  Army  is  a  band 
of  red  cloth  with  a  white  cross  (the  banner  of  the  Confedera- 
tion) worn  by  all  around  the  left  arm,  in  full  dress. 


202  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

The  foregoing  brief  description  of  the  Swiss  army  organ- 
ization will  no  doubt  suffice  to  give  our  military  as  well  as  lay 
readers  a  pretty  correct  insight  into  its  superior  solid  system . 


Ever  since  the  formation  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America  it  was  found  indispensable  to  maintain  a  standing 
army  for  the  protection  of  the  new  country  in  case  of  war  and 
to  keep  the  then  numerous  tribes  of  Indians  in  proper  check. 
There  have  been  almost  continual  and  bloody  Indian  wars  up 
to  the  past  decade,  the  most  protracted  and  difficult  of  which 
was  the  Seminole  War  in  Florida,  finally  terminated  by  the 
surrender  of  Billy  Bowlegs,  their  chief.  These  wars  alone 
would  have  kept  our  little  army  and  its  officers  in  almost 
constant  activity,  even  if  the  war  of  1812,  the  war  with 
Mexico  in  1846-47,  and  the  recent  gigantic  struggle  with  the 
Southern  Confederacy  had  not  come  in  as  between-acts  to  keep 
our  soldiers  in  proper  training. 

As  compared  with  the  armies  of  other  nations,  that  of  the 
United  States  occupies  a  unique  and  exceptional  position.  It 
is  the  best-dressed,  best-fed  and  above  all  best-paid  army  in 
the  whole  world.  The  yearly  expenses  of  this  little  army  are 
therefore  as  great  as  those  of  an  army  ten  times  its  strength  in 
Europe.  Although  recruited  exclusively  by  the  enlistment  of 
men,  who  present  themselves  voluntarily  for  the  lengthy  term 
of  five  years,  either  to  escape  misery,  when  out  of  work,  or 
from  patriotic,  ambitious,  or  any  other  motive,  the  fact  stands 
forth  bright  and  undeniable,  that  our  army  is  well  disciplined, 
reliable,  enduring  and  as  brave  as  any  other.  This  has  been 
amply  proved  on  a  hundred  occasions,  especially  during  the 
Mexican  War,  when  a  small  army  of  a  little  over  thirty 
thousand  men  invaded  that  country  in  three  distinct  columns, 
two  of  which  converged  from  considerable  distances  and  under 
grave  difficulties  to  the  capital  of  Mexico,  whilst  the  third 
operated  in  no  less  a  brilliant  manner  in  the  northern  part, 
under  General  Taylor.  The  victories  were  hard  fought  and 
decisive,  the  Commander-in-Chief,  Major-General  Winfiela 
Scott,  his  subordinate  Generals,  officers  and  men  earning  ma/i/ 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  203 

and  well-deserved  laurels.  They  were  duly  rewarded  by  a  grate- 
ful country,  the  soldiers  receiving  each  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land  as  a  bounty,  after  the  close  of  the  war.  Yet,  strange 
to  say,  in  spite  of  the  recent  glorious  campaign  in  Mexico,  the 
United  States  Army  in  the  fifties  was  looked  upon  with  any- 
thing but  favor  by  the  American  people.  A  private,  or  non- 
commissioned officer  in  uniform,  on  the  streets  of  the  cities 
was  subject  to  jeering  and  insulting  remarks,  sometimes  even 
to  acts  of  personal  violence  ;  the  officers  very  seldom  were  seen 
anywhere  except  in  civilian's  dress,  and  if  they  had  to  appear 
at  all  in  uniform  for  courtmartial  and  other  military  duty 
among  the  citizens,  the  uniform  was  partly  disguised  by  civilian 
cl3aks  and  other  pieces.  It  is  difficult  to  explain  this  senti- 
ment, except  that  in  those  times  men  only  enlisted  in  the  army 
when  they  had  no  other  resource  left  and  often  with  the  fixed 
purpose  of  recuperating  and  deserting  as  soon  as  possible,  in 
spite  of  the  awful  punishment  meted  out  to  deserters,  of 
which  we  shall  make  mention  later  on. 

After  General  Franklin  Pierce  had  been  elected  President  of 
the  United  States  against  his  powerful  political  competitor  and 
former  commander  in  the  Mexican  War,  General  Winfield 
Scott,  this  old  veteran  took  his  defeat  very  much  to  heart  and 
moved  the  headquarters  of  the  army  from  Washington  to  New 
York  City,  occupying  a  small,  modest  red  brick  house  with 
green  blinds,  where  we  more  than  once  had  the  distinguished 
honor  of  conversing  with  the  venerable  veteran,  though  then  a 
mere  boy.  The  pay  of  enlisted  men  was  then  much  smaller, 
the  fare  poorer  and,  by  way  of  compensation,  the  discipline  much 
more  rigorous  than  at  present.  Washington  himself  was  a 
strict  disciplinarian  and  allowed  no  nonsense  in  that  respect 
from  either  officer  or  private ;  and  this  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary at  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  with  his  scanty 
resources  in  troops,  material  and  funds.  The  difference 
between  the  army  of  now  and  forty  years  ago  is  quite  marked, 
as  a  natural  and  logical  result  of  the  great  struggle  of  the 
Rebellion,  which  caused  nearly  two  millions  of  men  to  take  up 
the  profession  of  arms  for  four  years  and  diffused  a  strong 
military  spirit  among  the  entire  population.  Whilst  in  former 
times  the  army  consisted  for  the  most  part  of  Irish,  German 


204  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

and  English  enlisted  soldiers,  with  but  a  few  native  Ameri- 
cans, the  latter  element  is  at  present  much  more  numerous, 
the  ancient  prejudice  against  the  profession  of  arms  having  been 
removed  and  the  service  rendered  more  tolerable,  with  some 
chances  for  the  promotion  of  enlisted  men  to  the  rank  of 
Second  lyieu tenant.  Before  1854  no  mustache  or  beard  of  any 
sort  was  allowed  in  the  United  States  Army,  with  the  exception 
of  an  apology  for  side  whiskers,  that  were  not  to  reach  below 
the  tip  of  the  ear.  Dragoon  soldiers  and  officers,  however, 
were  permitted  to  wear  mustaches,  and  so  was  that  elite  corps 
of  cavalry,  subsequently  abolished — the  regiment  of  Mounted 
Rifles.  It  took  nothing  less  than  an  Act  of  Congress  to  enable 
the  poor  soldiers  to  wear  their  beard  as  they  pleased,  ' '  provided 
it  be  neatly  trimmed  and  not  too  long." 


It  is  a  source  for  congratulation  that  there  are  at  least 
three  stable,  fixed  and  permanent  institutions  in  this  country, 
not  subject  to  periodical  changes  of  their  "personnel"  by  the 
elections  and  to  the  dangers  of  the  political  ax,  much  as 
our  stupid  and  unscrupulous  politicians  would  like  to  control 
even  these  few  independent  organizations.  They  are  the 
Federal  Supreme  Court,  the  Army  and  Navy,  and  if  this 
Republic  is  to  continue  to  exist  for  such  a  period  as  human 
institutions  are  susceptible  of,  they  had  better  remain  so  in 
future.  Our  Army  could  be  still  more  perfect  and  efficient 
were  it  not  for  the  frequent  meddling  and  unnecessary 
interference  of  generally  incompetent  civilian  committees  on 
military  affairs  in  both  houses  of  Congress.  The  organization 
of  an  army,  its  improvement,  progress  and  welfare,  must  be 
left  to  the  initiative  of  an  able  General  Staff  Corps,  which 
however,  we  do  not  possess  in  this  country,  and  not  to 
the  incompetent  caprice  of  congressional  committees,  whose 
sphere  ought  to  be  confined  to  examining  the  projects  sub- 
mitted to  them  as  a  matter  of  form,  and  to  recommend 
or  refuse  the  corresponding  appropriation,  if  it  be  a  question 
of  funds.  Too  sudden  and  frequent  changes  in  the  service 
will  lead  to  uncertainty  and  disorder,  that  can  only  impair  its 
required  efficiency. 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  205 

We  have  nothing  but  praise  for  the  officers  of  the  United 
States  Army,  many  of  whom  are  veterans  of  the  late  war,  and 
would  not  now  be  active  officers  were  it  not  for  good  and  val- 
uable services  rendered,  and,  in  a  great  number  of  cases,  for 
gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  The 
officers  of  the  United  States  Army  are  mostly  graduates  from 
the  famous  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  beautiful  Hudson  River,  occupying  a  strategical  point 
of  unusual  natural  beauty,  and  founded  by  General  Wash- 
ington. None  but  graduates  of  the  highest  qualifications,  who 
have  been  efficient  enough  to  pass  the  rigid  and  inexorable 
ordeal  of  the  examination  as  prescribed  by  law,  can  enter 
the  army  as  Second  Lieutenants  from  that  Academy.  The 
requirements  of  admission  to  West  Point  in  themselves  are  no 
trifle.  During  the  four  years  of  the  most  arduous  studies 
and  incessant  military  training,  to  which  the  cadets  are 
subjected  without  distinction  of  any  sort,  the  Government 
is  generous  enough  to  furnish  them  not  only  with  free 
instruction,  board,  quarters,  etc.,  but  allows  them  a  monthly 
salary  of  $45  in  addition,  the  pay  of  a  Captain  in  other 
countries.  The  reason  no  imperfect  officer  can  graduate  from 
our  national  Military  Academy  is,  that  a  cadet  who  has  not 
attained  a  certain  percentage  at  the  semi-annual  exami- 
nations, is  discharged  at  once  as  unlikely  to  be  of  much  further 
use  in  the  Army.  The  military  training  imparted  at  West 
Point  embraces  the  combined  study  of  the  four  arms  :  infantry, 
cavalry,  artillery  and  engineering,  to  which  the  successful 
officers  are  assigned  according  to  their  standard  of  merit. 
There  is  one  great  drawback,  however,  to  the  further  and 
more  enlarged  practical  instruction  of  the  young  officers, 
which  is  the  limited  number  of  men  they  are  called  to  com- 
mand, at  posts,  where  there  are  seldom  more  than  from  fifty  to 
a  few  hundred  men  together  ;  and  thus  the  careful,  costly  and 
brilliant  education  they  have  received  at  the  hands  of  a 
most  munificent  and  generous  Government  cannot  be  brought 
to  great  avail,  and  larger  operations  in  tactics  with  a  full 
regiment  of  one  arm  at  least,  if  not  with  brigade  formations, 
are  of  rare  occurrence,  and  a  great  pity  it  is. 


206  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

After  the  four  jrears  of  gratuitous  and  even  compensated 
instruction  at  West  Point,  the  officers  are  only  required  to 
serve  four  years  in  the  Army  before  they  can  resign  ;  this 
term  is  too  short,  and  eight  years  of  active  service  at  least 
should  be  required  of  them  before  being  allowed  to  with- 
draw. We  note  another  adverse  factor  in  the  career  of  our 
officers  :  They  marry  too  young;  the  cares  of  a  rising  family 
absorb  too  much  of  the  time  properly  belonging  to  the  welfare 
of  the  service  and  their  continued  advancement  in  the  military 
science,  besides  in  many  cases  crippling  their  resources.  It 
seems  that  a  system  of  perfect  sureties  on  the  part  of  the 
intended  wife  of  an  officer  under  the  rank  of  Major,  to  provide 
an  independent  income  for  the  lady,  should  be  introduced, 
the  same  as  in  most  European  armies,  without  which  the 
officer  should  not  be  permitted  to  inctimber  himself  with  a 
wife  and  family  until  at  a  later  period,  when  his  rank  and 
emoluments  allow  him  that  luxury.  The  military  man  must 
expect  and  be  prepared  to  make  many  sacrifices.  We  also 
note  that  our  officers  are  overfond  of  donning  civilian's  dress. 
This  is  all  right  when  on  leave  of  absence  or  for  any  special 
purpose,  but  it  should  not  be  the  rule  ;  the  uniform  and  sword 
should  be  worn  on  all  occasions  of  military  duty,  even  if  in 
the  midst  of  the  "Philistines,"  or  civilians.  The  American 
officer  has  no  reason  whatever  to  shirk  his  uniform  in  public; 
on  the  contrary,  he  ought  to  be  quite  as  proud,  and  prouder, 
of  his  distinguishing  handsome  and  honorable  dress  than 
any  European  officer.  The  latter  can  only  appear  in  public 
in  uniform,  with  sword  or  saber,  unless  on  leave  of  absence 
for  a  longer  period. 

Promotion  in  time  of  peace  is  so  very  slow  that  the  officers 
of  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  and  Captain  find  it  very  tedious  to 
wait  for  the  uncertain  promotion  for  so  many  years,  and  can- 
not be  blamed  for  becoming  discouraged.  Ten  years  of  steady 
service  as  Lieutenant  and  ten  years  as  Captain  should  be  the 
utmost  limit,  and  then  they  ought  to  be  promoted.  The  same 
as  in  the  Navy,  all  offices  in  the  War  Department  of  any 
importance  should  be  filled  by  officers  and  non-commissioned 
officers  taken  from  the  army  ;  this  would  greatly  relieve  the 
number  of  officers  in  the  active  service  and  give  chances  for 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  207 

more  rapid  promotion.  The  officers  thus  detached  for  office 
duty  in  the  Department  might  be  required  to  meet  at  certain 
fixed  periods  for  scientific  discussion  and  further  instruction 
in  military  matters  by  competent  staff  officers,  as  in 
Switzerland. 

The  discipline  in  the  Army  at  the  present  time  is,  in  our 
humble  opinion,  too  mild  to  be  fully  efficient  and  to  promote 
the  best  interests  of  the  service.  In  the  time  of  the  stern  but 
just  Washington,  it  was  no  sinecure  to  be  a  soldier.  Deserters 
were  flogged  and  the  letter  D  branded  on  one  of  their  cheeks 
in  the  face,  thus  making  them  forever  objects  of  public  scorn. 
In  the  fifties,  simple  deserters  from  the  Army  were  sen- 
tenced to  ball  and  chain  for  a  number  of  months  and  then 
reinstated.  A  repetition  of  the  offense  was  punished  by  fifty 
lashes  on  the  bare  back  and  shaving  of  the  head,  beard  and 
eyebrows,  in  which  ridiculous  predicament  they  were 
drummed  out  of  the  service  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  the 
letter  D  having  been  previously  branded  on  one  side  of  their 
seat.  These  summary  proceedings  have  been  done  away 
with  ;  yet  the  crime  of  desertion  should  be  most  severely 
punished  even  in  time  of  peace,  by  long  forced  labor  in  a  mili- 
tary prison,  and  by  death  in  war  time.  Desertion  from  the 
ranks  is  a  very  nasty  and  dishonorable  crime.  There  may  be 
mitigating  circumstances  for  it  in  the  armies  of  Europe,  where 
everybody  is  conscripted  into  the  service  for  a  number  of 
years,  whether  he  is  willing  or  not,  treated  with  great  severity 
under  iron  rules,  miserably  paid  and  roughly  fed.  But  in  this 
country  the  men  present  themselves  voluntarily,  obtain  all  the 
required  information,  are  cautioned  against  the  consequences 
of  the  engagement  and  not  deceived  in  any  manner  by  the 
recruiting  officer  and  surgeon,  who  nowadays  are  very  par- 
ticular whom  they  receive  as  recruits.  The  men  are  treated 
with  great  fairness  and  justice ;  cases  of  harshness  and 
arbitrary  treatment  by  the  officers  and  non-commissioned 
officers  are  very  rare  and  easy  of  redress;  clothing,  food, 
quarters  and  pay  are  superior  to  those  furnished  in  any  other 
army ;  hence  there  is  no  excuse  for  desertion,  which  in  the 
United  States  Army  becomes  a  base,  mean  and  ungrateful  act. 


208  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

The  term  of  enlistment  is  five  years,  and  this  is  too  long; 
three  years  would  be  a  fair  and  equitable  period.  A  private 
soldier  is  formed  and  made  efficient  in  six  months ;  perfection 
is  obtained  in  six  months  more.  Re-enlistments  of  good  men 
should  be  strongly  encouraged  by  additional  pay,  a  distinctive 
stripe  on  the  sleeve  and  promotion  to  a  higher  grade,  if  they 
are  worthy  and  competent.  The  present  rule  of  limiting 
re-enlistments  is  injurious  to  the  service. 

Somewhere  in  1855  Congress  passed  an  act  providing  for  the 
promotion  of  a  limited  number  of  non-commissioned  officers  to 
the  rank  of  Second  Lieutenant,  thus  opening  a  new  field  for 
ambitious  and  worthy  young  men.  This  law  has  been 
repeatedly  modified.  By  the  act  of  July  3oth,  1892,  specified 
in  General  Army  Orders  No.  79  of  November  26th,  1892,  this 
privilege  is  extended  even  to  the  private  soldiers.  The  educa- 
tion of  the  officers  graduated  from  West  Point  being  so  very 
complete  and  elaborate,  it  is  but  right  and  fair  to  these  that 
the  aspirants  for  commissions  in  the  army  should  be  possessed 
of  many  and  corresponding  qualifications.  The  conditions 
under  which  they  can  be  promoted  are  numerous  and  strict, 
and  render  it  no  easy  task  to  attain  the  anxiously  desired  aim. 
The  limitation  of  re-enlistments  to  ten  years,  introduced  by  one 
of  our  late  civilian  Secretaries  of  War  without  due  study,  reflec- 
tion and  consultation  with  Army  Officers,  who  are  properly 
posted  on  such  subjects,  is  injurious  to  the  service  and  deprives 
it  of  many  finely  trained  and  experienced  soldiers,  who  would 
gladly  remain  under  our  honored  flag  and  are  driven  out  under 
the  present  rule.  It  would  be  by  far  better  if  the  Secretaries 
of  War  and  the  Navy  were  technical  men,  selected  by  the 
President  from  the  retired  list  for  military  capacity  and 
administrative  talent ;  civilians  only  spoil  the  mess. 


We  will  now,  for  the  information  of  the  kind  lay-reader,  give 
a  table  of  the  United  States  Army,  which,  according  to  the 
latest  roster,  is  composed  of  the  following  forces,  numbering 
in  all  about  thirty- five  thousand  officers  and  enlisted  men  : 

i  Battalion  of  Engineers,  consisting  of  5  companies  of  145 
men  each; 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  209 

5  Regiments  of  Artillery  of  1 2  batteries  of  about  1 20  men 
each  ; 

10  Regiments  of  Cavalry  of  12  troops  of  about  70  men  each ; 

25  Regiments  of  Infantry  of  10  companies  of  about  70  men 
each. 

Two  of  the  Cavalry  and  two  of  the  Infantry  regiments  are 
colored  men  under  white  officers. 

This  small  army  for  such  an  immense  country  is  commanded 
by  three  Major- Generals,  one  of  whom  is  commanding  the 
whole  army,  and  six  Brigadier-Generals;  thus  forming  three 
divisions  of  two  brigades  each,  although  the  organization 
prescribes  that  two  regiments  of  infantry  or  of  cavalry  form  a 
brigade.  These  formations,  however,  in  our  army  are  merely 
nominal,  the  whole  force  being  distributed  and  scattered 
promiscuously  all  over  the  vast  region,  in  what  appears  to  be 
an  inextricable  confusion,  but  which  it  is  not  by  any  means. 

The  Administrative  Department  of  this  army  consists  of  the 
following  Staff  organizations,  the  whole  body  being,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  under  the  superior  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 
and  consequently  that  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in 
the  first  instance : 

Adjutant-Generals  Department ',  comprising  i  Brigadier- 
General,  2  Colonels,  4  Lieutenant-Colonels  and  13  Majors,  all 
of  Cavalry  rank. 

Corps  of  Inspectors- General :  i  Colonel,  i  Lieutenant-Colonel 
and  2  Majors,  all  of  Cavalry  rank. 

Quartermaster's  Department :  i  Brigadier-General,  6  Colonels, 
10  Lieutenant-Colonels,  12  Majors,  30  Captains  and  16  military 
storekeepers,  with  the  rank  of  Captain. 

Subsistence  Department :  i  Brigadier- General,  2  Colonels,  2 
Lieutenant- Colonels,  8  Majors  and  16  Captains. 

Corps  of  Engineers :  i  Brigadier- General,  6  Colonels,  12 
Lieutenant-Colonels,  24  Majors,  30  Captains,  26  First  Lieu- 
tenants and  10  Second  Lieutenants. 

Corps  of  Ordnance:  i  Brigadier- General,  3  Colonels,  4 
Lieutenant-Colonels,  10  Majors,  20  Captains,  16  First  Lieu- 
tenants, 10  Second  Lieutenants  and  13  ordnance  storekeepers, 
i  with  the  rank  of  Major  and  12  with  that  of  Captain. 


210  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

Medical  Corps:  i  Surgeon- General  with  the  rank  of  a 
General  of  Brigade,  i  Assistant  Surgeon-General  with  the  rank 
of  Colonel  of  Cavalry,  i  Chief  Purveyor  and  4  Assistant  Pur- 
veyors with  the  rank  of  Lieutenant- Colonel,  60  Surgeons  with 
the  rank  of  Major,  150  Assistant  Surgeons  with  the  ranks  of 
Captain  and  First  Lieutenant,  and  5  medical  storekeepers  with 
the  rank  of  Captain  of  Cavalry. 

Pay  Department :  i  Paymaster-General  with  the  rank  of 
Colonel  of  Cavalry,  2  Assistant  Paymasters-General  with  the 
rank  of  Colonel,  2  Deputy  Paymasters-General  with  the  rank 
of  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and  50  Paymasters  with  the  rank  of 
Majors  of  Cavalry. 

Signal  Service :  Chief  Signal  Officer  with  the  rank  of 
Colonel  of  Cavalry,  and  the  requisite  number  of  assistants. 

Bureau  of  Military  Justice :  This  consists  of  i  Judge- 
Advocate-General  with  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General,  i 
Assistant  Judge- Advocate- General  with  the  rank  of  Colonel  of 
Cavalry,  and  8  Judge- Advocates  with  the  rank  of  Major. 

The  chiefs  of  all  the  preceding  several  departments  and 
corps  exercise  their  power  subject  to  the  supervision  and  direc- 
tion of  the  Secretary  of  War. 

All  these  departments  are  admirably  organized  and  perform 
their  functions  in  an  able  and  satisfactory  manner,  greatly 
aided,  as  in  the  civil  service  of  the  Government,  by  the  liberal 
and  exhaustive  system  of  printed  forms  and  blank-books,  so 
happily  prevailing  in  official  circles,  and  which  remains 
unsurpassed  as  yet  in  any  country. 

Each  Chief  of  Department  is  supposed  to  be  fully  competent 
to  fill  his  responsible  office,  whether  his  knowledge  has  been 
acquired  through  active  service  in  the  line,  or  through  simple 
routine  and  gradual  promotion  in  the  department  itself.  They 
all  concentrate  in  the  War  Department,  of  whom  the  Secretary 
is  the  acknowledged  head;  but  he  is  generally  a  civilian, 
knowing  but  little  about  military  affairs,  and  thus  necessarily 
depending  on  his  technical  advisers  and  subordinates.  The 
real,  intelligent  and  unerring  authority  is  wanting;  such  a  one 
as  is  not  only  well  acquainted  with  one  particular  branch  of 
the  service,  but  with  all  of  them  at  the  same  time,  and  with 
every  detail,  from  the  command  of  an  army  corps  to  selecting 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  211 

a  barrel  of  flour  for  the  Commissary  Department.  The  United 
States  Army  has  no  General  Staff,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word, 
— a  consolidated  corps  of  officers,  of  all  arms,  whose  duty  it  is 
to  watch  over  the  whole  Army,  to  examine  all  inventions  and 
improvements  at  home  and  abroad,  the  armament,  accouter- 
ment,  clothing,  provisions  and  quarters  of  the  troops,  tactics, 
strategical  observations,  the  location  of  posts,  barracks,  forts 
and  other  fortifications;  and,  in  short,  all  and  every  matter 
touching  the  Army,  directly  and  indirectly.  The  formation  of 
such  a  General  Staff  at  the  seat  of  the  Government  we  consider 
of  great  importance.  It  would  be  of  very  easy  accomplish- 
ment, for  the  powerful  reasons  that  the  great  majority  of  our 
army  officers  are  splendidly  qualified  for  staff  positions,  on 
account  of  their  manifold  knowledge  in  all  the  four  different 
arms,  and  the  particular  scientific  training  they  receive  at  the 
Military  Academy;  and,  secondly,  because  several  component 
parts  of  such  a  General  Staff  are  already  in  existence,  under 
different  names,  and  could  be  speedily  concentrated  and 
reorganized  without  any  difficulty  and  particular  expense. 
The  General  Staff  may  not  issue  direct  orders  to  the  Army,  but 
would  be  a  most  important  factor  of  the  whole  military  system 
and  an  auxiliary  and  adviser  to  a  civilian  Secretary  of  War. 


The  Adjutant-General's  office,  like  all  the  other  chief  de- 
partments of  the  Service,  is  located  at  Washington.  It  has 
charge  of  the  organization  and  management  of  armies. 
Through  it  all  orders,  general  and  special,  affecting  our  mili- 
tary establishment,  are  issued;  it  keeps  and  preserves  the 
records  and  archives  of  the  whole  Army  ;  it  has  charge  of  the 
recruiting  and  mustering  services,  and  keeps  all  the  great 
variety  of  rolls  and  returns  of  the  troops ;  discharges ;  final 
statements ;  pay  accounts ;  consolidated  reports  for  corps, 
divisions,  brigades  and  regiments.  Statements  of  service  are 
furnished  by  the  Adjutant-General's  office  to  the  Auditors  of  the 
Treasury,  Commissioner  of  Pensions,  Paymaster-General, 
Commissary-General,  Quartermaster-General  and  other  chief 
administrative  officers,  to  enable  them  to  properly  prepare  and 
provide  the  necessary  funds  and  material,  as  well  as  to  keep 


212  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

that  strict  minute  and  scrupulous  control  over  accounts  of  all 
kinds,  for  which  our  Government  is  so  justly  celebrated. 
Frauds  and  collusion  are  very  rare  in  the  Army,  the  officers 
being  gentlemen  of  a  high  sense  of  honor ;  still,  when  such 
offences  do  occur,  the  culprit  should  be  more  severely  punished 
than  by  mere  dismissal  from  the  Army  and  perhaps  a  short 
term  of  confinement,  as  is  generally  the  case.  There  is  a  cere- 
mony in  use  in  the  European  armies,  called  military  degrada- 
tion, somewhat  in  the  style  of  our  former  "  drumming  out  of 
the  service;"  the  delinquent  in  full  uniform,  be  he  officer  or 
non-commissioned  officer,  is  placed  in  the  center  of  a  square 
formed  by  the  assembled  troops,  and  a  sergeant  breaks  his 
sword,  throwing  the  pieces  before  him,  and  tears  off  his  epau- 
lettes, buttons  and  insignia,  an  act  that  must  strike  terror  into 
the  hearts  of  the  strongest,  and  which  must  be  worse  than  a 
hundred  deaths.  This  awful  punishment  is,  however,  only 
inflicted  for  crimes,  such  as  desertion,  embezzlement,  theft,  acts 
of  aggression  toward  a  superior  in  rank,  treason,  etc. 

The  Statute  limits  our  army  to  30,000  enlisted  men,  but  at 
present  there  are  only  about  25,000  men  in  the  Service,  in- 
cluding Indian  scouts  and  the  hospital  service.  This  is 
owing  to  the  proverbial  stinginess  of  Congress,  not  less  than 
to  its  lack  of  discrimination,  that  body  having  limited  the 
appropriations  for  the  support  of  the  Army,  whilst  the 
Nation's  money  is  wasted  for  less  important  branches. 

There  are  thirty  post-chaplains  in  the  Army,  with  the  rank 
of  Captain,  presumably  of  but  one  religious  denomination,  but 
they  render  useful  services  as  school-teachers  to  the  children 
of  the  garrisons. 


The  uniform  and  clothing  of  our  troops  are  of  good  material, 
carefully  examined  and  selected,  the  collar  of  coats,  blouses 
and  pantaloons  being  handsome  and  appropriate.  The  blouses 
of  the  officers  and  men  might  be  a  few  inches  longer,  and  the 
plumes,  or  panaches,  on  the  helmets  dispensed  with,  or  made 
of  some  better  material.  The  helmets  themselves  should  be  of 
a  lighter  pattern,  and  the  famous  fatigue-cap  of  a  different 
shape,  with  a  higher  crown  ;  the  present  cap  sits  flat  on  the 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  213 

head,  without  any  ventilation,  is  very  uncomfortable  in  warm 
weather  and  liable  to  create  premature  baldness.  Whilst  the 
full-dress  uniform  has  many  characteristics  to  distinguish  the 
different  arms  of  the  Service  at  first  glance,  it  is  not  so  with 
the  fatigue-dress.  Infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery  in  fatigue- 
dress  can  only  be  distinguished  from  each  other  by  the  brass 
ornament  on  their  caps  ;  this  is  not  sufficient ;  there  should  be 
a  colored  stripe  of  some  sort  on  the  shoulders  or  the  collar, 
and  a  narrow  cord  on  the  seam  of  the  pantaloons,  to  indicate 
the  arm  of  the  private  as  well  as  the  officers  and  non-com- 
missioned officers.  By  some  strange  caprice  the  facings  of  the 
infantry  are  white  again,  as  they  were  forty  years  ago ;  the 
subsequent  light  blue  was  much  better  and  less  liable  to  get 
soiled.  The  useless  aiguillettes  might  be  done  away  with  and 
only  worn  by  field  and  staff  officers  ;  they  are  an  incumbrance 
and  a  useless  expense. 

The  accouterments,  saddles,  harness  and  other  trappings  of 
the  cavalry  and  artillery  are  very  neat  and  appropriate;  but  it 
is  very  singular  that  only  the  officers  have  saddle-cloths  to 
cover  the  ugly-looking  blanket  under  the  saddle;  some  sort  of 
a  woolen  or  linen  cloth  should  be  used  by  the  troopers  also. 
The  sight  of  the  bare,  folded  blanket  projecting  from  under  the 
saddle  does  certainly  detract  from  their  otherwise  very  credit- 
able appearance.  The  soft,  gray  felt  hat  worn  by  the  cavalry 
on  the  road  and  in  camp  is  very  appropriate  and  serviceable, 
although  it  gives  the  men  a  semi-citizen  appearance.  Our 
honored  military  readers  will  please  overlook  these  few  and 
innocent  comments  on  the  uniform  of  the  Army;  but,  seeing 
very  little  else  to  find  fault  with  in  our  splendid  little  military 
organization,  we  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  criticise 
something. 

Since  the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  North  America 
has  found  it  absolutely  necessary  to  maintain  a  standing  army 
from  the  earliest  time  of  its  autonomy,  and  since  it  forms  an 
important  part, — nay,  perhaps  the  most  important  part — of  our 
public  organization,  everything  points  out  the  necessity  of 
keeping  that  standing,  regular  army  in  the  highest  degree  of 
perfection  and  efficiency .  Our  experience  in  this  respect  at  the 


214  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

very  commencement  of  the  great  Civil  War,  taught  us  a  severe 
lesson.  Had  there  been  a  sufficient  force  of  regular  troops  at 
the  disposal  of  the  War  Department  when  active  hostilities 
broke  out,  the  defeat  of  Bull  Run  and  Manassas  Gap  would 
have  been  avoided.  We  doubt  very  much  whether  the  war 
would  have  been  continued  by  the  South  if  these  battles  had 
been  such  signal  victories  for  the  Northern  troops  as  they  were 
for  the  Southern.  At  all  events,  the  moral  effect  would  have  been 
immense,  a  settlement  of  the  controversy  rendered  more  easy 
and  probable  from  the  commencement,  instead  of  the  increased 
animosity,  that  soon  became  a  deadly  hatred  and  caused  the 
whole  country  irreparable  losses.  From  the  earliest  periods 
of  history  we  have  seen  what  a  small  body  of  well-trained, 
disciplined  troops  can  accomplish  against  even  immense  hordes 
of  ferocious,  unorganized  barbarians,  be  their  valor  ever  so 
great.  The  victories  of  Alexander  in  Asia,  of  Caesar  every- 
where, of  the  Spaniards  in  America,  the  English  in  the  East 
Indies,  of  the  allied  forces  of  England  and  France,  less  than 
ten  thousand  men  in  all,  defeating  and  routing  a  Chinese  army 
of  three  hundred  thousand  men  in  the  very  heart  of  their  own 
country,  and  many  other  instances  of  the  superiority  of  disci- 
pline and  training.  It  was  only  after  the  Northern  troops  had 
become  properly  organized  and  trained,  as  well  as  it  could  be 
done  under  such '  trying  circumstances,  thanks  only  to  the 
immense  resources  at  the  disposal  of  the  Federal  Government, 
and  to  the  greater  independence  and  authority  given  to  the 
Northern  commanders,  that  they  began  to  accomplish  more 
satisfactory  results  and  succeeded  in  crushing  the  Confederacy. 


The  great  Republic  of  the  United  States  may  be  involved  in 
a  foreign  war  at  any  time,  notwithstanding  our  sincere  desire 
for  peace  and  our  willingness  to  submit  eventual  difficulties  to 
friendly  arbitration.  It  is  true,  we  are  rich  and  full  of  resources; 
we  may  form  useful  alliances ;  in  case  of  danger  our  people 
may  rise  "<?#  masse'"''  to  repel  an  invader  and  even  be  willing 
to  go  outside  of  the  national  limits  to  attack  the  enemy  in  his 
own  country  ;  still  the  main  reliance  would  be  on  the  regular 
army  and  its  efficient  officers.  The  veterans  of  the  late  war 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  215 

will  soon  have  disappeared  from  the  living ;  thirty  years  is 
even  less  than  a  grain  of  sand  in  the  immense  and  infinite 
course  of  time,  which  has  no  beginning  and  no  end.  We  do 
not  wish  to  be  pessimistic,  but  the  human  race  will  ever  be 
ready  to  settle  private  and  public  controversies  by  force  of 
arms, from  the  fist  and  club  to  the  revolver  and  rifled  cannon. 
After  having  made  such  astounding  progress  in  the  engines  of 
destruction  and  placed  so  many  millions  under  arms,  the  rulers 
of  men  are  not  going  to  consign  this  colossal  war  material  to 
the  arsenals  to  rust,  but  will  employ  and  test  it  at  some  not 
very  remote  period. 

Unfortunately  war  on  this  earth  appears  to  be  a  necessity  ; 
it  is  inexplicable,  but  it  is  nevertheless  true.  War  commenced 
on  the  fatal  clay  on  which  Cain  slew  his  brother  Abel  because 
he  was  jealous  of  his  beauty  arid  virtues.  If  we  have  to  believe 
in  the  traditions  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  there  were  not  over  half 
a  dozen  human  beings  living  at  the  time  of  this  first  crime  on 
record,  compared  to  which  the  eating  of  a  succulent  apple  was 
an  insignificant  incident ;  and  yet  these  few  creatures  had  to 
fight  already  !  It  is  the  nature  of  the  human  brute.  Do  we 
not  hear  continually  that  the  son  has  assassinated  the  father, 
that  an  infamous  wretch  has  set  fire  to  the  house  of  his 
neighbor  for  the  sake  of  spite  or  revenge  ?  This  is  war  be- 
tween individuals  instead  of  war  amongst  the  nations;  but  war 
it  is  all  the  same.  Were  it  not  for  the  fear  of  justice,  for  the 
fear  of  punishment  and  imprisonment,  attack  and  defense 
would  filter  into  the  daily  habits  of  the  people,  as  they  now 
exist  between  the  nations  and  powers,  who  watch  and  espy 
each  other,  ever  ready  to  commence  the  fray.  He  who  is 
fortunate  enough  to  enter  the  twentieth  century  will  witness, 
probably  at  its  very  commencement,  interior  disturbances  and 
exterior  complications  and  mighty  struggles  more  fierce  and 
destructive  of  life  and  property  than  were  the  wars  of  the 
beginning  of  the  century  about  to  close.  A  hundred  years  of 
progress  and  alleged  civilization  have  not  yet  given  lasting 
peace  to  humanity  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  general  animosity 
and  ill  will  seem  to  have  increased  with  the  too  rapid  filling 
up  of  the  earth  of  God. 


216  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

The  principle  of  a  standing  army  being  fully  established  by 
the  very  fact  that  we  have  kept  one  ever  since  the  formation  of 
this  great  Republic,  the  question  arises,  what  would  be 
the  proper  strength  of  our  regular  Army  ?  It  evidently  ought 
to  correspond  in  number  with  the  increase  of  the  population. 
If  an  army  of  twenty-five  thousand  men  was  not  deemed  too 
many  forty  years  ago,  when  our  population  was  small, 
when  the  whole  country  was  at  peace,  when  there  was 
decidedly  more  security  for  life  and  property  than  at  the 
present  period,  when  the  influence  of  the  courts  was  para- 
mount and  their  mandates  were  implicitly  obeyed,  when  the 
Federal  Government  was  regarded  in  a  higher  light,  it  would 
be  absurd  to  maintain  that  the  same  number  of  forces  is  ade- 
quate to  the  present  situation  of  the  country.  The  population 
has  been  more  than  doubled ;  the  vacant  tracts  filled  by 
settlers  ;  commerce  and  intercourse  with  foreign  countries 
increased  tenfold;  local  interests  have  come  into  serious 
conflict  with  those  of  other  States ;  almost  irreconcilable 
differences  of  opinion  exist  in  economical,  political  and  religi- 
ous matters  among  a  great  many  of  our  people  ;  we  no  longer 
enjoy  the  general  and  individual  prosperity  of  years  ago  ;  the 
distinction  and  difference  of  the  classes  have  become  more 
pronounced ;  for  one  man  of  wealth  we  count  a  thousand 
paupers,  or  at  least  five  hundred  struggling  for  a  miserable 
existence ;  and  last  but  not  least  patriotism  and  national 
integrity  are  at  a  low  ebb  at  present.  This  country  has 
arrived  at  a  period  of  its  history  and  abnormal  development 
when  a  strong  and  powerful  central  Government  is  more  nec- 
essary for  its  preservation  than  ever.  The  moral  power  of  a 
Government  consists  in  making  wise  laws  and  in  strictly 
maintaining  them  ;  its  physical  strength  lies  in  the  ability  to 
enforce  the  laws,  and  that  can  only  be  done  by  the  aid  of  the 
armed  public  force.  In  spite  of  the  progress  of  civilization 
and  of  general  culture,  the  masses  of  the  people  are  yet  hard 
to  control  and  can  only  be  subjected  through  the  fear  of  the 
law  and  retribution.  Were  it  not  for  the  fear  of  other  punish- 
ment than  that  of  personal  and  individual  revenge  or 
castigation,  no  life  or  property  would  be  secure,  and  chaos, 
murder,  rapine  and  arson  reign  supreme.  The  bank  cashier 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  217 

would  pack  up  the  yellow  single  and  double  eagles,  the  legal 
tender  notes  and  bonds,  and  easily  find  a  place  of  refuge  ;  the 
proletarian  would  pay  his  rent  by  splitting  the  head  of  his  im- 
portunate landlord,  and  so  forth.  Moreover,  we  find  ourselves 
no  longer  in  that  idyllic  state  of  security  with  regard  to  foreign 
relations  which  we  enjoyed  for  so  many  years,  before  there 
were  any  sealing  questions,  Satnoan  imbroglios,  controversies 
with  South  American  States,  brought  on  by  our  improper  and 
stupid  interference  with  matters  that  did  not  concern  us,  and 
other  complications  liable  at  any  time  and  quite  unexpectedly 
to  cause  an  outbreak  of  hostilities,  when  a  standing  army  is 
of  supreme  utility.  If  not  large  enough  in  itself  to  meet  all 
requirements,  it  forms  at  least  a  precious  and  powerful  nucleus 
for  the  formation  of  additional  forces,  either  by  increasing  the 
ranks  already  existing,  or  by  creating  new  regiments  under 
experienced  officers  of  the  line.  Just  as  the  professors  and 
teachers  form  the  scholars,  so  do  the  officers  and  non- 
commissioned officers  form  the  soldiers. 


Considering  the  numerous  duties  to  perform  even  in  time  of 
peace,  the  many  contingencies  apt  to  arise  at  any  time  at 
home  and  abroad,  and  the  enormous  growth  of  our  cosmopol- 
itan population,  a  standing  army  of  50,000  men  would  not  be 
at  all  in  disproportion  with  the  number  of  inhabitants.  The 
expense  of  this  increased  force  would  not  be  doubled,  but  only 
absorb  about  one-half  more  than  the  appropriations  at  present 
required  for  the  Army,  as  the  Commanding  and  Administrative 
Departments  would  not  necessarily  have  to  be  augmented. 
Either  this  increase  of  the  Army  ought  to  be  effected  without 
any  delay,  or  the  system  in  force  in  the  Swiss  Republic  intro- 
duced in  the  United  States  of  North  America,  namely,  that  of 
universal  military  service  during  a  short  preparatory  term  and 
yearly  practice  of  a  few  weeks,  subject  to  the  summons  of  the 
Government  at  any  time  for  duty  at  home  or  abroad,  for  a  cer- 
tain number  of  years,  comprising  those  of  youth  and  manly 
strength.  We  have  already  explained  the  Swiss  system  quite 
fully  at  the  commencement  of  this  chapter;  further  details  can 


218  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

be  seen  from  the  corresponding  articles  in  the  appended  mag- 
nificent Constitution  of  the  Swiss  Confederation.  The  United 
States,  however,  might  improve  even  on  that  system  by  keep- 
ing not  only  a  standing  army  of  fifty  thousand  men,  with  ranks 
complete  at  all  times,  but  by  making  one  hundred  thousand 
young  men,  of  from  twenty-one  to  twenty-five  years  of  age,  in 
the  different  States,  according  to  the  census,  subject  to  military 
training  in  the  Swiss  style,  and  to  being  called  on  at  any  time 
when  required  by  the  Government. 

The  militia  forces  of  the  different  States  composing  the 
Union,  according  to  the  latest  returns  received  at  the  office  of 
the  Adjutant-General,  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  in  conformity 
with  the  law  on  that  subject,  comprise,  in  all,  but  112,496 
officers,  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates.  If  this  force 
were  all  organized,  drilled,  armed  and  equipped  in  a  uniform 
and  entirely  efficient  manner  all  over  the  country,  it  might 
answer  the  principal  purposes;  but  such  is  far  from  being  the 
case,  as  everybody  knows.  In  order  to  become  more  efficient, 
the  lawful  contingents  of  State  militia  should  be  commanded 
and  instructed  by  officers  of  the  regular  Army,  from  the  rank  of 
Captain  upward.  Our  militia  is  quite  creditable,  and  it  looks 
pretty  well  on  parades  and  in  the  armories;  but  in  cases  of 
riots,  rebellion,  strikes,  etc.,  it  can  be  but  little  relied  on, 
because  the  men  cannot  afford  to  leave  their  occupations,  fam- 
ilies and  pursuit  of  bread  for  more  than  a  few  days.  More- 
over, they  cannot  be  blamed  for  declining  to  take  part  in 
quarrels  between  bosses  and  employees,  mine-owners  and  mine- 
diggers,  lords  of  factories  and  slaves  of  labor.  To  expect  the 
militia  to  fire  upon  their  brethren  and  fellow-citizens,  who  are 
often  oppressed  and  have  the  moral  right  on  their  side,  is  sim- 
ply presumptuous  nonsense.  It  is  quite  different  with  the  reg- 
ular Army,  whose  members  do  not  come  from  one  particular 
section  of  the  country,  but  from  every  State,  and  many  from 
foreign  countries.  It  is  their  duty  to  obey  the  orders  of  their 
officers  without  any  grumbling  or  criticism  of  any  sort;  they 
are  enlisted  and  liberally  paid  for  their  services,  and  they 
know  that  their  orders  emanate  from  the  highest  authority  of 
the  land,  not  from  some  local  sheriff,  mayor  or  governor,  who 
often  has  not  even  his  own  Supreme  Court  to  back  him.  The 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  219 

United  States  Army  has  proved,  on  countless  occasions,  its 
valor  and  reliability  under  all  circumstances  and  at  all  times; 
this  is  so  well  known  that  the  mere  presence  of  a  hundred  or 
so  of  United  States  troops  is  sufficient  to  reduce  and  intimidate 
rioters  and  ugly  mobs,  when  thousands  of  militiamen  have 
been  unable  to  effect  anything.  The  people  know  mighty 
well  that  one  shot  fired  on  the  regular  force  may  bring  awful 
retribution,  and  that,  even  should  they  be  able  on  some  rare 
occasion  to  inflict  a  check  on  the  Government  troops,  the 
whole  strength  of  the  nation  would  be  behind  to  crush  them. 

Supposing  our  Army  were  raised  to  the  normal  strength  of 
fifty  thousand  men,  officers  of  course  included,  this  number 
would  not  be  any  too  large  for  the  objects  and  purposes  of  a 
regular  army  in  such  an  immense  country,  considering  the 
enormous  amount  of  public  property  to  protect,  keep  and  take 
care  of ;  the  occupation  of  arsenals,  forts  and  batteries ;  the 
patrolling  and  more  efficacious  protection  of  national  parks, 
forests  and  public  lands  ;  the  guarding  of  the  national  Capital 
and  the  protection  of  Congress  from  the  invasion  of  the  modern 
Goths,  Huns  and  Vandals,  who  at  present  threaten  to  invade 
the  sacred  District  of  Columbia;  it  is  true  without  arms,  but 
who  will  no  doubt  return  at  a  later  period  supplied  with 
wherewith  to  enforce  their  demands,  unless  they  know  before- 
hand that  the  Capital  is  well  protected  and  defended  against 
all  such  foolish  and  lawless  enterprises.  These  nomadically 
inclined,  misguided  people,  forming  associations  under  the 
pompous  titles  of  "Industrial  Army,"  ' 'Labor  Army," 
1 '  Commonwealth  Army  ' '  and  others,  create  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  all  over  the  country  by  threatening  the  general  tran- 
quillity and  laying  the  villages,  towns  and  cities  under  direct 
contribution,  which  is  none  the  less  forced  because  the 
sympathies  of  the  lower  classes  are  frequently  in  favor  of  the 
wandering  tribes.  The  best  and  only  way  to  prevent  these 
scandalous  movements  and  encroachments  on  the  rights  of 
local  inhabitants  and  corporations  of  transportation,  is 
to  stifle  them  at  the  commencement,  and  not  allow  the  forma- 
tion of  any  such  wandering  bodies.  Liberty  is  fast  becoming 
license.  The  dangers  for  the  near  future  can  be  easily 
foreseen,  and  an  increase  of  the  regular  Army,  which  would 


220  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

at  the  same  time  absorb  twenty-five  thousand  more  or  less  idle 
men,  is  the  proper  remedy,  were  it  only  by  way  of  precaution. 
"  Si  vis  pacem,  para  bellum,"  the  Romans  said  :  "  If  you  want 
peace,  prepare  for  war." 


The  Indian  troubles  having  gradually  subsided,  chiefly 
because  the  doubtful  civilian  element  in  the  different  agencies 
has  been  supplanted  by  the  honorable  officers  of  the  Army, 
and  future  serious  outbreaks  being  hardly  to  fear,  the  Govern- 
ment has  been  enabled  to  abandon  some  of  the  two  hundred 
and  odd  military  posts  throughout  the  country  and  to  adopt  a 
policy  of  concentration  of  the  troops  in  fewer  and  larger 
establishments.  This  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction.  The 
companies  of  the  regiments  should  be  united  in  one  place,  and 
if  detached,  within  easy  communication  with  headquarters  and 
not  hundreds  of  miles  away,  as  in  many  cases  at  present. 
Larger  military  establishments  might  be  located  in  the  center 
of  the  country,  on  the  plains,  within  easy  reach  of  a  city, 
where  there  is  a  space  of  ground  sufficiently  vast  to  gather 
large  bodies  of  troops  once  or  twice  a  year  for  field 
maneuvers  by  brigade  and  division  formations,  in  which  our 
older  general  officers  must  have  become  somewhat  deficient 
since  the  last  war,  and  the  younger  ones  have  never  had  a 
chance  to  witness  or  participate  in.  Such  combined  maneu- 
vers take  place  at  least  once  a  year  in  all  regular  armies  and 
generally  last  from  one  to  two  weeks,  the  instruction,  practice 
and  field  training  thus  received  by  the  officers  and  troops  of 
the  different  arms  being  extremely  valuable.  It  will  be  a 
very  difficult  task,  however,  to  obtain  the  consent  of  our  legis- 
latures to  such  improvements  and  the  necessary  appropriations 
to  carry  them  out.  Partisan  politics  would  not  be  promoted 
thereby  and  no  new  votes  secured,  because  the  Army  is  pre- 
sumed to  be  over  and  above  politics,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  will 
ever  remain  so. 

Compared  with  the  relative  strength  of  a  regiment  of 
cavalry  and  of  artillery  in  our  Army,  the  infantry  proportion  of 
seventy  men  in  each  company  is  altogether  too  small  ;  ten  com- 
panies of  one  hundred  men  each  would  make  up  a  fair  regiment 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  221 

of  infantry,  counting  one  thousand  men.  As  the  Government 
can  now  obtain  all  the  men  it  wants,  and  a  fine  lot  of  men  at 
that,  the  ranks,  as  at  present  authorized,  should  at  least  be 
kept  full.  Three  commissioned  officers  for  fifty  men  and 
sometimes  less,  are  too  many  and  do  not  look  well. 

There  ought  to  be  at  least  five  thousand  men  of  all  arms 
stationed  on  and  near  the  Mexican  frontier  to  prevent  the 
periodical  raids,  smuggling  and  other  complications  on  our 
southern  border,  and  the  very  least  fifteen  thousand  men  on 
the  immense  northern  frontier,  stretching  likewise  from  ocean 
to  ocean,  for  similar  revenue  purposes  and  in  case  of  unex- 
pected trouble  with  our  otherwise  pacific  neighbors  in  the 
north. 


The  Military  authorities  of  the  United  States  are  subordinate 
to  the  Civil  authority  ;  thus  the  President  is  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  and  the  Governors  of  the 
different  States  of  their  respective  militia  ;  these  functionaries 
are  generally  civilians,  or  if  they  have  held  military  rank,  it 
ceases  with  their  election  to  office.  Now  the  superiority  of 
civil  jurisdiction  in  a  republic,  especially  in  time  of  peace,  is 
an  excellent  principle  ;  but  this  superiority  should  not  extend 
to  every  miserable  court  in  the  "country  ;  members  of  the 
United  States  Army  ought  to  be  under  the  exclusive  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Federal  Courts,  or  be  placed  on  an  equal  footing 
with  these,  which  means  that  all  offenses  and  crimes  committed 
within  the  army  sphere  should  be  tried  by  military  courts 
having  also  jurisdiction  over  capital  punishment.  When  an 
officer,  non-commissioned  officer,  or  soldier  is  arrested  infla- 
grante  delido  by  the  civil  authority,  he  should  be  immediately 
handed  over  to  the  military  commander,  who  may,  in  cases  of 
civil  crimes  of  a  heinous  nature,  remand  him  to  a  Federal 
Court  for  trial.  As  the  law  is  at  present,  an  officer  with  his 
command  may  have  to  march  through  a  deserted  country  and 
be  compelled  to  seize  a  bushel  of  potatoes  or  a  bundle  of  hay; 
a  deputy  sheriff  or  constable  can  serve  a  warrant  on  him  by 
order  of  some  fool  of  a  country  judge  and  seriously  embarrass 
his  military  object.  This  is  decidedly  wrong  and  contrary  to 


222  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

common  sense.  The  system  at  present  prevailing,  for  instance, 
of  trying  an  officer  who  has  shot  his  superior  in  actual  service, 
by  a  civil  court,  is  as  absurd  as  it  is  contrary  to  the  prestige 
and  dignity  of  the  Army.  A  military  court  of  justice  is 
probably  the  fairest  that  can  be  found  ;  it  consists  of  from  five 
to  nine  members  and  is  therefore  equivalent  to  a  trial  by  jury, 
with  the  difference  that  a  courtmartial  is  seldom  known  to 
pronounce  an  unjust  sentence,  though  its  judgment  is  some- 
times tempered  by  mercy.  Can  we  say  as  much  of  our  civil 
courts?  Corruption  and  bribery  of  judges,  juries,  witnesses 
and  attorneys  in  civil  courts  are  matters  of  daily  occurrence, 
as  everybody  knows  who  is  not  entirely  blind,  or  pretends  to 
be  so.  In  time  of  war  or  rebellion,  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus, 
which  is  the  personal  guarantee  of  all  citizens,  can  be  sus- 
pended by  the  President  and  Congress,  and  martial  law 
proclaimed,  by  which  acts  the  military  authorities  take  the 
upper  hand.  In  peace  time  the  regular  Army  should  be  placed 
on  an  equal  footing  with  the  civil  authorities  and  have  its  own 
independent  jurisdiction  over  military  and  criminal  offenses 
committed  by  officers  and  soldiers  of  all  grades,  unless  a  court- 
martial  declares  itself  incompetent  and  assigns  the  case  to  one 
of  the  Federal  Courts  ;  but  in  no  case  should  a  member  of  the 
regular  Army  be  arrested  by  the  civil  authority,  unless  it  be 
for  actual  crime  committed  whilst  absent  from  his  post  and 
for  desertion,  and  even  then  the  prisoner  should  be  handed 
over  to  the  nearest  military  command  as  soon  as  possible.  On 
the  other  hand  no  civil  counsel  should  be  permitted  to  be 
employed  by  any  military  defendant  in  a  courtmartial ;  the 
military  court  of  honorable  and  impartial  officers  is  fully 
sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  military  justice  ;  lawyers  only 
serve  to  complicate,  confuse  and  mix  up  matters  at  a  trial 
and  have  ho  business  at  any  military  court.  The  accused 
mav  select  his  own  defender  from  the  officers,  if  not  satisfied 
with  the  Judge- Advocate.  In  the  principal  European  and 
some  Spanish-American  countries  each  regiment  has  an 
officer  attached  to  it,  with  the  title  of  Auditor,  whose  duties  are 
to  supervise  the  accounts  of  the  regiment  and  attend  to  all 
matters  of  military  jurisprudence,  he  being  not  only  an  expert 
accountant,  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  military  account 


UNITED     STATES     ARMY.  223 

bystem  and  the  quality  and  quantity  of  every  item  to  which 
the  regiment  is  entitled,  but  also  fully  competent  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  both  military  and  civil  law.  The  Auditor  there- 
fore permanently  exercises  the  functions  of  the  temporary 
Judge- Advocate  of  our  Army  at  courtsmartial  ;  he  is  subordi- 
nate to  brigade  and  division  Auditors  and  these  to  the  Auditor- 
General,  corresponding  to  the  Judge- Advocate-General  of  the 
United  States  Army,  in  military  jurisprudence  at  least. 


For  fear  of  being  accused  of  too  great  partiality  for  the 
Army,  for  which,  however,  he  acknowledges  to  have  a  particular 
predilection,  the  writer  will  not  at  the  present  time  dilate  any 
further  on  this  most  interesting  subject,  but  will  limit  himself 
to  again  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  following  facts  : 
That  the  Army,  under  the  brilliant  and  patriotic  leadership  of 
the  immortal  Washington,  ably  assisted  by  a  corps  of  talented 
and'  brave  Generals  and  other  officers,  contributed  more 
than  any  other  factor  to  the  success  of  the  war  of  Independ- 
ence. On  one  side  the  statesmen  of  the  period,  men  of  lofty 
views  and  indomitable  will-power,  elaborated  the  whole  plan , 
drew  up  the  famous  Declaration  of  Independence  and  supplied 
the  sinews  of  war,  meager  as  they  were  but  too  often.  On  the 
other  hand  the  soldiers  shed  their  blood,  sacrificed  their  lives 
and  endured  the  most  cruel  hardships  during  the  long  and 
difficult  campaigns,  from  which  they  were  to  emerge  finally 
completely  successful,  covered  with  the  laurels  of  everlasting 
military  glory.  To  the  Army  therefore  is  this  great  Republic 
chiefly  indebted  for  its  primary  existence  and  subsequent  im- 
mense development.  It  was  the  Army  that  preserved  the  young 
nation  in  1812  and  drove  out  the  British  invaders,  who  would 
fain  have  reconquered  a  portion  of  their  lost  provinces  in  the 
north ;  the  regular  Army  again,  as  the  nucleus,  aided  by  a 
corps  of  valiant  volunteers,  subject  to  its  superior  direc- 
tion, gained  beautiful  victories  in  beautiful  and  unfairly 
treated  Mexico,  and  added  not  only  new  leaves  to  the  glory  of 
American  arms,  but  immense  tracts  of  territory,  worth  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  dollars,  for  a  mere  pittance  paid  by  our 
Government,  a  sum  so  insignificant  in  comparison  with  the 


224  UNITED     STATES     ARMY. 

intrinsic  value  of  the  provinces  thus  acquired  and  which 
converted  our  national  domain  into  an  oblong  square,  that 
the  American  nation  should  have  subsequently  entertained 
conscientious  scruples  and  paid  the  unfortunate  sister  Re- 
public at  least  thirty  millions  more,  in  compensation  for  this 
immense  loss  of  territory,  that  had  belonged  to  her  for  350 
years,  especially  if  we  will  strike  our  breast  and  admit 
honestly,  that  the  quarrel  with  Mexico  was  principally  of 
our  own  seeking.  And  finally,  had  it  not  been  for  the  fun- 
damental kernel  of  the  regular  Army,  left  to  the  Government 
after  a  portion  of  the  officers  had  taken  up  the  Southern 
cause,  the  rebellion  never  would  have  been  overcome  and  the 
great  Republic  split  in  two  or  more  independent  parts.  It  is 
true  that  the  volunteers,  as  they  were  called,  contributed 
mainly  to  the  great  and  blessed  results  of  that  cruel  war;  but 
what  is  the  whole  Army,  anyhow,  but  a  corps  of  volunteers, 
who  present  themselves  voluntarily,  of  their  own  free  will  and 
accord,  to  serve  the  country,  receiving  proper  compensation  ? 

These  are  irrefutable  arguments  !  It  is  of  the  most  vital 
importance  for  the  maintenance,  welfare  and  security  of 
this  country  that  it  have  a  standing  army,  and  that  this 
standing  army  be  at  all  times  sufficiently  strong  in  numbers, 
fully  equipped  and  armed  with  the  most  improved  ' '  tools  ' '  of 
warfare  ;  that  laymen  and  civilians  in  Congress  not  thoroughly 
posted  and  competent  in  military  matters  keep  their  hands  off, 
and  that  our  Army  be  not  interfered  with,  except  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  increasing  its  numerical  strength,  its  efficiency  and 
general  welfare  !  Not  for  a  vain  purpose  has  the  great 
Washington,  who  knew  all  about  it,  founded  the  splendid 
Military  Academy  of  West  Point  and  made  it  the  special  object 
of  his  paternal  solicitude.  That  institution  is  and  should 
remain  the  beacon-light  of  this  great  Republic  ! 


CONCLUSION. 

WHILST  writing  these  lines,  the  following  news  has  come  to 
our  knowledge  from  that  model  country — dear  old  Swit- 
zerland. We  give  this  news,  because  it  has  reference  to  the  infor- 
mation contained  in  the  third  chapter  of  this  work,  on  the  great- 
est danger  threatening  society — anarchism  and  explosives.  As  a 
matter  of  course,  such  items  of  news  are  not  reported  to  the 
public  by  our  daily  papers,  since  they  are  not  of  a  sensational 
character,  like  elopements,  divorce  suits,  breach  of  promise 
proceedings,  prize-fights  and  other  stuff  of  that  kind,  dished 
up  for  the  delectation  of  one  reader  in  a  hundred,  and  against 
the  tastes  and  wishes  of  the  other  ninety-nine  subscribers. 

Shortly  after  the  reopening  of  the  Swiss  Federal  Assembly 
(equivalent  to  our  Congress)  in  Bern,  an  act  was  presented 
and  adopted,  entitled  "Federal  law  concerning  crimes  against 
public  security -, ' '  aimed  at  that  cancerous  outgrowth  of  modern 
society — the  anarchists.  This  law  had  been  very  carefully 
elaborated  by  the  Federal  Council  and  brought  before  the 
Council  of  States  (similar  to  our  Senate,  but  more  honest, 
competent,  hard-working  and  energetic),  composed  of  forty- 
four  members — two  for  each  Canton.  The  necessity  and  advan- 
tages of  the  eight  clauses  composing  the  bill  were  briefly 
explained  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Department  of  Justice  and 
immediately  acted  upon.  They  are  in  brief :  "That  anyone 
who  makes  use  of  explosive  materials  with  any  criminal  inten- 
tions, shall  be  punished  by  not  less  than  ten  years  of  solitary 
confinement;  that  whosoever  fabricates,  or  gives  instruction 
how  to  manufacture  them,  by  not  less  than  five  years  of  soli- 
tary confinement;  also,  those  who  retain,  conceal,  or  transport 
explosive  substances  for  any  other  purpose  than  that  of  pre- 
venting the  transgression;  and  not  less  than  six  months  of 
solitary  confinement  for  all  those  who  incite,  by  means  of  the 
press  or  otherwise,  any  other  person  to  commit  crimes  against 
persons  or  property  by  the  use  of  such  explosive  substances. ' ' 


226  CONCLUSION. 

The  Council  of  States  adopted  the  bill  unanimously  without 
any  debate  ;  the  National  Council  likewise  without  any  alter- 
ation. For  some  time  past  the  Swiss  Federal  Council  had  a 
close  eye  on  the  doings  of  the  anarchists,  but  did  not  propose 
any  special  legislation,  presuming  the  existing  laws  sufficient, 
and  that  the  acts  of  these  dangerous  wretches  would  find  no 
imitators  ;  the  insolent  and  overt  acts  of  the  anarchists  of  late, 
however,  caused  the  Federal  Council  to  modify  its  views  and 
to  propose  the  above  stringent  measures,  which  were  passed 
by  the  chambers  with  such  exemplary  promptness,  in  most 
striking  contrast  with  the  sinuous,  complicated,  iniquitous 
and  procrastinating  ways  of  our  brilliant  legislative  lights  at 
Washington,  D.  C.,  who  will  sit  over  the  simplest  bill  for 
months  and  then  accomplish  but  little. 

To  further  illustrate  the  expeditious  manner  in  which  the 
business  of  the  Swiss  Government  is  transacted,  we  now  cite  a 
dispatch  received  June  Qth  from  Bern,  concerning  a  popular 
vote  in  that  model  Republic  : 

' '  A  referendum,  or  popular  vote,  took  place  last  Sunday 
throughout  the  Swiss  Republic  on  a  proposition  to  add  to  the 
Swiss  Constitution  an  article  declaring  '  that  every  citizen  had 
a  right  to  be  given  work.'  This  proposition  emanated  from 
the  socialists  and  extreme  democrats,  who  pretend  tiiat  the 
Government  is  bound  to  procure  work  for  every  man  capable 
of  working,  who  has  no  employment.  The  petition  demanding 
of  the  Council  of  States,  that  this  proposition  be  submitted  to 
a  popular  vote,  contained  more  than  fifty  thousand  signatures, 
more  than  the  number  required  by  the  Constitution,  and  the 
referendum  could  not  be  refused.  The  complete  results  of 
this  popular  vote  became  known  yesterday  (June  8th)  and  were 
published  to-day.  The  proposition  of  the  socialists  and 
extreme  democrats  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  three  hundred 
thousand  against  eighty-five  thousand." 


Each  of  the  nine  chapters  of  this  little  volume  contains 
material  enough  to  have  filled  a  separate  book ;  but  it  was 
not  the  intention  of  the  writer  to  more  than  superficially  touch 
on  each  of  the  most  important  subjects  comprised  in  said 


CONCLUSION.  227 

chapters.  We  have,  nevertheless,  endeavored  to  pass  over  no 
topic  of  any  importance  relating  to  our  defective  Statutes  and 
the  evils  and  abuses  at  present  prevailing  in  this  great  Re- 
public. To  literary  merit  we  do  not  and  cannot  lay  any 
claim ;  but  we  pretend  to  have  developed  the  complaints  and 
maxims  contained  in  "Reform"  with  a  lofty  impartiality, 
honesty  of  purpose  and  from  pure  and  patriotic  motives,  which 
will,  we  hope  and  trust,  be  admitted  by  our  kind  readers  of 
all  political  shades  and  creeds.  In  this  connection  it  may  not 
be  improper  to  recapitulate  the  principal  propositions  contained 
in  our  work  ;  they  are  as  follows  : 

Foundation  of  a  "  National  Reform  Party  ;" 

The  further  limitation  and  regulation  of  immigration ; 

The  leasing,  and  not  selling,  of  public  lands  ; 

Increase  in  extent  and  number  of  national  parks  and  the 
ample  guarding  of  the  same  ; 

Preservation  of  all  forests,  game  and  fish  ; 

Simplicity  and  uniformity  in  style  of  living  and  dress  ; 

Vigorous  suppression  of  anarchism  ; 

Limit  to  excessive  wealth  by  progressive  taxation  on  in- 
comes and  estates ; 

Stability  in  the  tenure  of  public  offices  during  good  be- 
haviour ; 

Cessation  of  the  perpetual  conflict  of  authority ; 

Stricter  and  more  general  observance  of  national  holidays; 

Uniformity  of  laws  throughout  the  States ; 

Restriction  and  check  of  lawyers  in  court  and  outside ; 

Appointment  of  judicial  officers  for  life ; 

Solemnity  and  respect  in  the  courts  of  law  by  all ; 

Abolition  of  bail  in  criminal  cases,  misdemeanor  excepted  ; 

Reformation  and  simplification  of  the  jury  system  ; 

Speedy  trial  of  civil  and  criminal  cases  and  immediate 
execution  of  sentences  and  findings  ; 

Prompt  execution  of  death  sentences ; 

Simplification  of  codes  and  procedures  ; 

Introduction  of  the  metric  system  ; 

Cessation  of  the  pardoning  power  of  Governors  : 

Establishment  of  penal  colonies  on  sea  islands  ; 


228  CONCLUSION. 

Expulsion  of  obnoxious  foreigners  from  the  territory  of  the 
United  States ; 

Election  of  none  but  pure,  good  and  hard-working  men  to 
Legislatures  and  Congress  ; 

Abolition  of  State  Senates  ; 

Abolition  of  veto  power  by  Governors  and  President ; 

Purchase  and  control  by  the  Government  of  railroads  and 
telegraphs ; 

Better  treatment  and  safety  of  travelers  ; 

Equal  and  stricter  marriage  and  divorce  laws  in  all  States  ; 

Establishment  of  courts  of  civil  register  for  marriage, 
divorce,  births  and  deaths,  for  all  inhabitants  alike  ; 

Suppression  of  public  and  private  detective  agencies  ; 

Limitation  of  size  of  foreign  flags  in  public  processions  ; 

Reduction  to  the  thirteen  original  stars  in  the  national 
banner ; 

No  further  admission  of  Territories  of  less  than  100,000  in- 
habitants ; 

Reduction  of  amount  of  war  pensions  ; 

Provision  for  the  care  of  the  aged  and  crippled  poor ; 

Strict  execution  on  the  part  of  corporations  of  their  charters 
and  franchises  ; 

Suppression  of  prize-fighting  ; 

Manufacture  and  sale  of  arm^by  the  Government ; 

Reform  of  naturalization  laws  ; 

Regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic. 

Press  reform  :  suppression  of  scandalous  papers  and  use  of 
larger  type  ; 

Free  education  to  be  limited  to  the  first  eight  grades  ; 

Prohibition  of  religious  demonstrations  of  all  kinds  in  public 
and  preaching  outside  of  the  houses  of  worship  ; 

Teachers  to  be  appointed  for  life  ; 

Prohibition  of  smoking  and  drinking  in  public  by  children 
under  eighteen  years  ; 

Absolute  non-interference  in  schools  and  politics  by  any 
religious  denomination  ; 

Closing  of  all  business  on  the  Sabbath,  excepting  places 
of  refreshment  and  reasonable  amusement ; 

General  introduction  of  cremation  of  the  dead  ; 


CONCLUSION.  229 

Suppression  of  associations  endangering  the  public  peace 
and  harmony ; 

Suppression  of  all  national  banks  ; 

Full  guarantees  to  be  exacted  from  commercial  and  savings 
banks ; 

Paper  money  of  not  less  than  ten  dollars  each  note,  to  be 
issued  exclusively  by  the  Federal  Government ; 

Coining  of  all  silver  in  the  national  Treasury  ; 

Fortifying  and  garrisoning  the  District  of  Columbia  ; 

Abolition  of  the  veto  power  of  the  Senate  ; 

Abolition  of  the  power  to  originate  bills  in  the  Senate  ; 

Protection  of  the  President  and  public  buildings ; 

Election  of  the  President  by  Congress  ; 

President  not  to  succeed  himself ; 

President  to  become  a  member  of  the  Senate  upon  retiring  ; 

Government  defaulters  to  be  more  severely  dealt  with  ; 

One  Senator  only  from  each  State  to  be  sent  to  Congress, 
and  two  substitutes  elected  at  the  same  time  to  replace  him ;  . 

Obligation  for  both  Houses  of  Congress  to  effect  speedy, 
good,  and  honest  legislation  ; 

Stringent  measures  against  lazy  and  absent  members  ; 

Publication  by  the  Federal  Government  of  an  "  Official 
Gazette,"  or  "  Monitor,"  at  Washington,  D.  C.; 

Radical  Reform  in  the  Consular  and  Diplomatic  service ; 

Increase  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  thirteen  members  and 
obligation  to  render  immediate  decisions  in  all  cases  ; 

Increase  of  the  Army  to  fifty  thousand  men ; 

Proper  and  more  efficient  organization  of  the  State  militia  ; 

Independent  jurisdiction  for  the  military  authorities. 


The  foregoing  programme  is  a  vast  one,  but  its  execution  by 
no  means  difficult,  provided  our  legislators  be  animated  by 
good  will,  honesty  of  purpose  and  genuine  patriotism,,  abstracting 
absolutely  and  entirely  from  party  politics  selfish  considera- 
tions and  local  prejudices.  We  again  say  and  maintain,  that 
delegates  to  State  and  Federal  legislative  bodies  should  be 
called  to  strict  account  by  their  electors  if  they  fail  to  perform 
their  sacred  duties  in  compliance  with  the  principles  adopted 


230  CONCLUSION. 

in  the  platform  and  with  the  pompous  pledges  and  promises 
given  by  them.  Let  none  of  these  return  to  their  homes  after 
betraying  the  trust  placed  in  them  by  a  credulous  but  well- 
meaning  people,  for  fear  of  the  popular  indignation  and  personal 
punishment. 


Although  we  do  not  pretend  to  be  entitled  to  the  Roman 
exclamation  of  *  *  Finis  coronat  opus,  quamque  operatorem, ' '  we 
sincerely  hope  and  trust  that  our  exhortation  to  the  people  of 
the  United  States  of  North  America  will  at  least  bear  some 
fruit  in  the  near  future.  In  regard  to  the  great  multitude  of 
questions  herein  treated  in  a  summary  and  fearless  manner, 
we  may  be  permitted  to  quote  the  French,  "A  bon  entendeur, 
Salut!"(A\\  hail  to  those  who  comprehend  !),  and  will  close 
our  labors  with  the  renewed  cry  of  CAVEAT  PATRIA  !  !  ! 


APPENDIX. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


PREAMBLE. 

We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect 
union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the 
common  defense,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings 
of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this 
Constitution  for  the  United  States  of  America. 


ARTICLE  I.    LEGISLATIVE  DEPARTMENT. 
SECTION  I.     Congress  in  General. 

All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives. 

SECTION  II.    House  of  Representatives. 

Clause  i.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of  mem- 
bers chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  States ;  and 
the  electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for 
electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 

Clause  2.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of 
that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Clause  3.  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union, 
according  to  their  respective  numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by 
adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free  persons,  including  those  bound  to 
service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths 
of  all  other  persons.  The  actual  enumeration  shall  be  made  within 
three  years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
and  within  every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they 
shall  by  law  direct.  The  number  of  representatives  shall  not  exceed  one 


232  UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION. 

for  every  thirty  thousand,  but  each  State  shall  have  at  least  one  repre- 
sentative ;  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  choose  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode 
Island  and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five,  New  York  six, 
New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Vir- 
ginia ten,  North  Carolina  five,  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

Clause  4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any 
State,  the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill 
such  vacancies. 

Clause  5.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  speaker 
and  other  officers,  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 


SECTION  III.    Senate. 

Clause  i.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two 
senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  Legislature  thereof  for  six  years, 
and  each  senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

Clause  2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence 
of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided,  as  equally  as  may  be,  into  three 
classes.  The  seats  of  the  senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the 
expiration  of  the  second  year,  of  the  second  class  at  the  expiration  of 
the  fourth  year,  and  of  the  third  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year, 
so  that  one-third  may  be  chosen  every  second  year ;  and  if  vacancies 
happen,  by  resignation  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  Legislature 
of  any  State,  the  executive  thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments 
until  the  next  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such 
vacancies. 

Clause  3.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have  attained 
to  the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State 
for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Clause  4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President 
of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

Clause  5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  ofiicers  and  also  a 
president  pro  tempore,  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he 
shall  exercise  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

Clause  6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeach- 
ments. When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath  or  affirm- 
ation. When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  chief-justice 
shall  preside ;  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence 
of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

Clause  7.  Judgment  in  case  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further 
than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any 
office  of  honor,  trust,  or  profit  under  the  United  States ;  but  the  party 


UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION.  233 

convicted  shall,  nevertheless,  be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial, 
judgment  and  punishment  according  to  law. 


SECTION  IV.    Both  Houses. 

Clause  i.  The  times,  places  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for 
senators  and  representatives  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the 
Legislature  thereof;  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or 
alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to  the  place  of  choosing  senators. 

Clause  2.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year, 
and  such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they 
shall  by  law  appoint  a  different  day. 


SECTION  V.     The  Houses  Separately. 

Clause  i.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns  and 
qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute 
a  quorum  to  do  business  ;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day 
to  day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  mem- 
bers, in  such  manner  and  under  such  penalties  as  each  house  may 
provide. 

Clause  2.  Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings, 
punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence 
of  two-thirds,  expel  a  member. 

Clause  3.  Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and 
from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may  in  their 
judgment  require  secrecy  ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of 
either  house,  on  any  question,  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those 
present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

Clause  4.  Neither  house  during  the  session  of  Congress  shall,  without 
the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to 
any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the  two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 


SECTION  VI.     Privileges  and  Disabilities  of  Members . 

Clause  i.  The  senators  and  representatives  shall  receive  a  compensa- 
tion for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the 
treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  shall  in  all  cases,  except  treason, 
felony  and  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their 
attendance  at  the  session  of  their  respective  houses,  and  in  going  to  or 
returning  from  the  same  ;  and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  house, 
they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  place. 

Clause  2.  No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time  for 
which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority 


234  UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION. 

of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emolu- 
ments whereof  shall  have  been  increased,  during  such  time ;  and  no 
person  holding  any  office  under  the  United  States  shall  be  a  member  of 
either  house  during  his  continuance  in  office. 


SECTION  VII.     Mode  of  Passing  Laws. 

Clause  i.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House  of 
Representatives ;  but  the  Senate  ma}'  propose  or  concur  with  amend- 
ments, as  on  other  bills. 

Clause  2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives and  the  Senate  shall,  before  it  becomes  a  law,  be  presented  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States ;  if  he  approve,  he  shall  sign  it ;  but  if  not, 
he  shall  return  it,  with  his  objections,  to  that  house  in  which  it  shall  have 
originated,  who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal, 
and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If,  after  such  reconsideration,  two-thirds 
of  that  house  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with 
the  objections,  to  the  other  house,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  recon- 
sidered, and  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of  that  house,  it  shall  become  a 
law.  But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of  both  houses  shall  be  determined 
by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against 
the  bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  house  respectively.  If 
any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sun- 
days excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall 
be  a  law  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by 
their  adjournment  prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

Clause  3.  Every  order,  resolution  or  vote,  to  which  the  concurrence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except  on 
a  question  of  adjournment),  shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States ;  and  before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be  approved 
by  him,  or,  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two-thirds 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and 
limitations  prescribed  in  the  case  of  a  bill. 


SECTION  VIII.     Powers  Granted  to  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power : 

Clause  i.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts  and  excises,  to  pay 
the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common  defense  and  general  welfare  of 
the  United  States  ;  but  all  duties,  imposts  and  excises  shall  be  uniform 
throughout  the  United  States. 

Clause  2.     To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States  ; 

Clause  3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the 
several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes  ; 


UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION.  235 

Clause  4.  To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform 
laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies,  throughout  the  United  States  ; 

Clause  5.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof  and  of  foreign 
coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures  ; 

Clause  6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the 
securities  and  current  coin  of  the  United  States  ; 

Clause  7.     To  establish  postoffices  and  post-roads  ; 

Clause  8.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by 
securing  for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right 
to  their  respective  writings  and  discoveries  ; 

Clause  9.     To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court ; 

Clause  10.  To  define  and  punish  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas, 
and  offenses  against  the  law  of  nations ; 

Clause  ii.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and 
make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water  ; 

Clause  12.  To  raise  and  support  armies ;  but  no  appropriation  of 
money  to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years  • 

Clause  13.    To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy  ; 

Clause  14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the 
land  and  naval  forces  ; 

Clause  15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws 
of  the  Union,  suppress  insurrections  and  repel  invasions ; 

Clause  1 6.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming  and  disciplining  the 
militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  reserving  to  the  States  respectively  the 
appointment  of  the  officers  and  the  authority  of  training  the  militia 
according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress  ; 

Clause  17.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  whatsoever, 
over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession  of 
particular  States  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of 
government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all 
places  purchased,  by  the  consent  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  in  which 
the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dock- 
yards and  other  needful  buildings  ;  and 

Clause  18.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers 
vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or 
in  any  department  or  officer  thereof. 

SECTION  IX.     Powers  Denied  to  the  United  States. 

Clause  i.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the 
States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited 
by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 


236  UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION. 

eight;  but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not 
exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person. 

Clause  2.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  sus- 
pended unless  when,  in  case  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public  safety 
may  require  it. 

Clause  3.     No  bill  of  attainder,  or  ex-post-facto  law,  shall  be  passed. 

Clause  4.  No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in 
proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeratian  hereinbefore  directed  to  be 
taken. 

Clause  5.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any 
State. 

Clause  6.  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  com- 
merce or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another ;  nor 
shall  vessels  bound  to  or  from  one  State  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear  or  pay 
duties  in  another. 

Clause  7.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  but  in  conse- 
quence of  appropriations  made  by  law ;  and  a  regular  statement  and 
account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public  money  shall  be 
published  from  time  to  time. 

Clause  8.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States  ; 
and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them  shall, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument, 
office  or  title  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince  or  foreign 
state. 

SECTION  X.     Powers  Denied  to  the  States. 

Clause  i.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance  or  confedera- 
tion •  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal ;  coin  money  •  emit  bills  of 
credit ;  make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of 
debts  ;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex-post-facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the 
obligation  of  contracts  ;  or  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

Clause  2.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay 
any  imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except,  what  may  be  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  laws ;  and  the  net  produce 
of  all  duties  and  imposts  laid  by  any  State  on  imports  or  exports  shall 
be  for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States ;  and  all  such  laws 
shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  the  Congress. 

Clause  3.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any 
duty  of  tonnage,  keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into 
any  agreement  or  compact  with  another  State  or  with  a  foreign  power, 
or  engage  in  war  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger 
as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 


UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION.  237 

ARTICLE  II.    EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT. 
SECTION    I.      President  and   Vice- President. 

Clause  i.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term  of 
four  years,  and,  together  with  the  Vice-President,  chosen  for  the  same 
term,  be  elected  as  follows  : 

Clause  2.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  Legisla- 
ture thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole  number 
of  senators  and  representatives  to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the 
Congress  ;  but  no  senator  or  representative,  or  person  holding  an  office 
of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed  an  elector. 

[Clause  3.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  two  persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an  inhabi- 
tant of  the  same  State  with  themselves.  And  they  shall  make  a  list 
of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each  ;  which 
list  thay  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit,  sealed,  to  the  seat  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate. 
The  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall 
then  be  counted.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall 
be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of 
electors  appointed ;  and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such 
majority,  and  have  an  equal  number  of  votes,  then  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives shall  immediately  choose  by  ballot  one  of  them  for  Presi- 
dent ;  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then,  from  the  five  highest  on 
the  list,  the  said  House  shall  in  like  manner  choose  the  President.  But 
in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  repre- 
sentation from  each  State  having  one  vote  ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose 
shall  consist  of  a  majority  of  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States, 
and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  In  every 
case,  after  the  choice  of  the  President,  the  person  having  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  of  the  electors  shall  be  the  Vice-President.  But  if  there 
should  remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal  votes,  the  Senate  shall 
choose  from  them  by  ballot  the  Vice-President.*] 

Clause  4.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the 
electors,  and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes,  which  day 
shall  be  the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

Clause  5.  No  person  except  a  natural-born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall 
be  eligible  to  the  office  of  President ;  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible 
to  that  office  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty-five  years, 
and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the  United  States. 

*  Altered  by  the  i2th  Amendment. 


238  UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION. 

Clause  6.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his 
death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  the 
said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President ;  and  the  Con- 
gress may  by  law  provide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation  or 
inability,  both  of  the  President  and  Vice-President,  declaring  what 
officer  shall  then  act  as  President ;  and  such  officer  shall  act  accord- 
ingly, until  the  disability  be  removed  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

Clause  7.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services 
a  compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during 
the  period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive 
within  that  period  any  other  emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any 
of  them. 

Clause  8.  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take 
the  following  oath  or  affirmation  : 

"I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  preserve,  protect  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States." 

SECTION  II.     Powers  of  the  President. 

Clause  i.  The  President  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and 
navy  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  States,  when 
called  into  the  actual  service  of  the  United  States  ;  he  may  require  the 
opinion  in  writing  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  depart- 
ments, upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices; 
and  he  shall  have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offenses 
against  the  United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

Clause  2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  senators 
present  concur ;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  embassadors,  other  public  ministers 
and  consuls,  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the 
United  States,  whose  appointments  are  not  herein  otherwise  provided 
for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by  law ;  but  the  Congress  may  by  law 
vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior  officers  as  they  think  proper  in  the 
President  alone,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

Clause  3.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that 
may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commissions, 
which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 


SECTION  III.    Duties  of  the  President. 

He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  Congress  information  of  the 
state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  meas- 
ures as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient ;  he  may,  on  extraordinary 


UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION.  239 

occasions,  convene  both  houses,  or  either  of  them,  and  in  case  of  dis- 
agreement between  them,  with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he 
may  adjourn  them  to  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper ;  he  shall 
receive  embassadors  and  other  public  ministers  ;  he  shall  take  care  that 
the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  commission  all  the  officers  of 
the  United  States. 

SECTION  IV.     Impeachment  of  the  President. 

The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  United 
States,  shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  for  and  conviction 
of  treason,  bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  or  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE  III.    JUDICIAL  DEPARTMENT. 
SECTION  I.     United  States  Courts. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in  one  Supreme 
Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  Congress  may  from  time  to  time 
ordain  and  establish.  The  judges,  both  of  the  Supreme  and  inferior 
courts,  shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior  ;  and  shall,  at  stated 
times,  receive  for  their  services  a  compensation,  which  shall  not  be 
diminished  during  their  continuance  in  office. 

SECTION  II.    Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  Courts. 

Clauses.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  in  law  and 
equity  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and 
treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their  authority  ;  to  all 
cases  affecting  embassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls ;  to  all 
cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction  ;  to  controversies  to  which 
the  United  States  shall  be  a  party ;  to  controversies  between  two  or 
more  States ;  between  a  State  and  citizens  of  another  State ;  between 
citizens  of  different  States  ;  between  citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming 
lands  under  grants  of  different  States  ;  and  between  a  State,  or  the  citi- 
zens thereof,  and  foreign  states,  citizens  or  subjects.* 

Clause  2.  In  all  cases  affecting  embassadors,  other  public  ministers 
and  consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  party,  the  Supreme 
Court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  cases  before 
mentioned,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as 
to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions,  and  under  such  regulations,  as  the 
Congress  shall  make. 

Clause  3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment, 
shall  be  by  jury  ;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the  said 
crimes  shall  have  been  committed  ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any 
State,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by 
law  have  directed. 

*  Altered  by  the  nth  Amendment. 


240  UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION. 

SECTION  III.     Treason. 

Clause  i.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in 
levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them 
aid  and  comfort.  No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the 
testimony  of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in 
open  court. 

Clause  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment 
of  treason ;  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood 
or  forfeiture,  except  during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV. 
SECTION  I.    State  Records. 

Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to  the  public  acts, 
records  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other  State.  And  the  Congress 
may,  by  general  laws,  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records 
and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 


SECTION  II.     Privileges  of  Citizens,  etc. 

Clause  i.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privi- 
leges and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

Clause  2.  A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony  or 
other  crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice  and  be  found  in  another  State, 
shall,  on  demand  of  the  executive  authority  of  the  State  from  which 
he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having  jurisdiction 
of  the  crime. 

Clause  3.  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the 
laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or 
regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall 
be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may 
be  due. 

SECTION  III.    New  States  and  Territories. 

Clause  i.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this 
Union  ;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdic- 
diction  of  any  other  State  ;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of 
two  or  more  States,  or  parts  of  States,  without  the  consent  of  the  Legis- 
latures of  the  States  concerned,  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

Clause  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all 
needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property 
belonging  to  the  United  States  ;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall 
be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United  States  or  of 
any  particular  State. 


UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION.  241 

SECTION  IV.     Guarantee  to  the  States. 

The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union  a 
republican  form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against 
invasion  ;  and  on  application  of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  executive 
(when  the  Legislature  cannot  be  convened),  against  domestic  violence. 


ARTICLE  V.    POWER  OF  AMENDMENT. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  houses  shall  deem  it  nec- 
essary, shall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  appli- 
cation of  the  Legislatures  of  two-thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call 
a  convention  for  proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either  case,  shall  be 
valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  part  of  this  Constitution,  when 
ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  three-fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by 
conventions  in  three-fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of 
ratification  may  be  proposed  by  Congress  ;  provided,  that  no  amendment 
which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  eight  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the 
ninth  section  of  the  first  Article  ;  and  that  no  State,  without  its  consent, 
shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 


ARTICLE  VI.    PUBLIC  DEBT,  SUPREMACY  OF  THE   CONSTITUTION, 
OATH  OF  OFFICE,  RELIGIOUS  TEST. 

Clause  i.  All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into  before 
the  adoption  of  this  Constitution  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United 
States  under  this  Constitution  as  under  the  Confederation. 

Clause  2.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which 
shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or  which 
shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land  ;  and  the  judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound 
thereby,  anything  in  the  Constitution  or  laws  of  any  State  to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding. 

Clause  3.  The  senators  and  representatives  before  mentioned,  and 
the  members  of  the  several  State  Legislatures,  and  all  executive  and 
judicial  officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several  States, 
shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  this  Constitution  ;  but 
no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or 
public  trust  under  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  VII.    RATIFICATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION. 
The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  States  shall  be  sufficient 
for  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution   between  the  States  so  rati- 
fying the  same. 


'242  UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION. 

Done  in  Convention,  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  States  present, 
the  seventeenth  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  and  of  the  Independence  of 
the  United  States  of  America  the  twelfth.  In  witness  whereof,  we 
have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  President  and  Deputy  from  Virginia. 
New  Hampshire. — John  Langdon,  Nicholas  Oilman. 
Massachusetts.—  Nathaniel  Gorham,  Rufus  King. 
Connecticut. — Wm.  Samuel  Johnson,  Roger  Sherman. 
New  York. — Alexander  Hamilton. 
New  Jersey. — William  Livingston,  William  Paterson,  David  Brearley, 

Jonathan  Dayton. 
Pennsylvania. — Benjamin  Franklin,  Robert  Morris,  Thomas  Fitzsimons, 

James  Wilson,   Thomas   Mifflin,    George   Clymer,  Jared  Ingersoll, 

Gouverneur  Morris. 

Delaware. — George  Read,  John  Dickinson,  Jacob  Broom,  Gunning  Bed- 
ford, Jr.,  Richard  Bassett. 

Maryland.— James  M'Henry,  Daniel  Carroll,  Daniel  of  St.  Tho.  Jenifer. 

Virginia. — John  Blair,  Jas.  Madison,  Jr. 

North  Carolina. — William    Blount,  Hugh   Williamson,    Richard  Dobbs 

Spaight. 
South  Carolina.— John  Rutledge,  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney,  Pierce 

Butler. 
Georgia. — William  Few,  Abraham  Baldwin. 

Attest,  WIWJAM  JACKSON,  Secretary. 


AMENDMENTS  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION. 


ARTICLE  I.     Freedom  of  Religion,  etc. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion, 
or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof ;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of 
speech,  or  of  the  press  ;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assem- 
ble, and  to  petition  the  Government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 


ARTICLE  II.    Right  to  Bear  Arms. 

A  well-regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free  State, 
the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 


ARTICLE  III.    Quartering  Soldiers  on  Citizens. 

No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house  without 
the  consent  of  the  owner  ;  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to 
be  prescribed  by  law. 


ARTICLE  IV.    Search  Warrants. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers 
and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  vio- 
lated ;  and  no  warrant  shall  issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported  by 
oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the  place  to  be  searched, 
and  the  persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 


ARTICLE  V.     Trial  for  Crime,  etc. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or  otherwise  infamous 
crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in 
cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia  when  in  active 
service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger  ;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject 
for  the  same  offense  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb  ;  nor 
shall  be  compelled,  in  any  criminal  case,  to  be  a  witness  against  himself; 
nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law ; 
nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just  compen- 
sation. 


244  UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE  VI.    Rights  of  Accused  Persons. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a 
speedy  and  public  trial,  by  au  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district 
wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have 
been  previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and 
cause  of  the  accusation  ;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against 
him ;  to  have  compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor  ; 
and  to  have  the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defense. 

ARTICLE  VII.     Suits  at  Common  Law. 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall  exceed 
twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved ;  and  no 
fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the 
United  States  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law. 

ARTICLE  VIII.    Excessive  Bail. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor 
cruel  and  unusual  punishment  inflicted. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution  of  certain  rights  shall  not  be  con- 
strued to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 

ARTICLE  X. 

The  powers  not  granted  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution, 
nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively 
or  to  the  people. 

ARTICLE  XI. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed  to 
extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity  commenced  or  prosecuted  against 
one  of  the  United  States  by  citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  citizens  or 
subjects  of  any  foreign  State. 

ARTICLE  XII.     Mode  of  Choosing  the  President  and  Vice-President. 

Clause  i.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall 
not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves ;  they  shall 
name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct 
ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice-President ;  and  they  shall  make  dis- 
tinct lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all  person «= 


UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION.  245 

voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which 
lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit,  sealed,  to  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate  ; 
the  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall 
then  be  counted  ;  the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for 
President  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  person  have  such  majority, 
then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers,  not  exceeding 
three,  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives shall  choose  immediately  by  ballot  the  President.  But  in 
choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  represen- 
tation from  each  State  having  one  vote  ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose 
shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and 
a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the 
House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a  President,  whenever  the 
right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March 
next  following,  then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of  the  President. 

Clause  2.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice- 
President  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a 
majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list  the  Senate  shall 
choose  the  Vice-President ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of 
two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole 
number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 

Clause  3.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of 
President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  XIII. 

SECTION  i.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a 
punishment  for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted, 
shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their 
jurisdiction. 

SECTION  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by 
appropriate  legislation. 

ARTICLE  XIV. 

SECTION  i.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and 
of  the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any 
law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States ;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty  or 
property  without  due  process  of  law,  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its 
jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 


246  UNITED     STATES     CONSTITUTION. 

SECTION  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several 
States  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  num- 
ber of  persons  in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when 
the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  representatives  in  Con- 
gress, the  executive  and  judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or  the  members  of 
the  I/egislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  members  of  such 
State,  being  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
or  in  any  way  abridged,  except  for  participation  in  rebellion  or  other 
crime,  the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  propor- 
tion which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole 
number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  State. 

SECTION  3.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  or  representative  in  Con- 
gress, or  elector  of  President  and  Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office, 
civil  or  military,  under  the  United  States,  or  under  any  State,  who, 
having  previously  taken  an  oath,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  offi- 
cer of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  State  Legislature,  or  as 
an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any  State,  to  support  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion 
against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof.  But 
Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  house,  remove  such 
disability. 

SECTION  4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States, 
authorized  by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pensions 
and  bounties  for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall 
not  be  questioned.  But  neither  the  United  States  nor  any  State  shall 
assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection  or 
rebellion  against  the  United  States,  or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emanci- 
pation of  any  slave  ;  but  all  such  debts,  obligations  and  claims  shall 
be  held  illegal  and  void. 

SECTION  5.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  by  appropriate 
legislation  the  provisions  of  this  article. 

ARTICLE  XV. 

SECTION  I.  The  right  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote 
shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  any  State,  on 
account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

SECTION  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  by  appropriate 
legislation  the  provisions  of  this  article. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  SWISS  REPUBLIC 

OF  THE   agTH   OF   MAY,    1874. 

NOTE. — Translated  by  Colonel  Ralph  de  Clairmont  from  the  original 
French  text,  contained  in  the  magnificent  work  of  Dr.  C.  Hilty,  "  Les 
Constitutions  Federates  de  la  Suisse,"  published  at  the  request  of  the 
Federal  Council  to  commemorate  the  6ooth  anniversary  of  Swiss  inde- 
pendence;  Neuchatel,  1891. 


IN    THE    NAME    OF   ALMIGHTY    GOD! 
THE    SWISS    CONFEDERATION, 

Desirous  of  strengthening  the  alliance  of  the  confederates,  of  main- 
taining and  increasing  the  unity,  power  and  honor  of  the  Swiss  Nation, 
has  adopted  the  following  Federal  Constitution  : 

CHAPTER    I. 
GENERAL   DISPOSITIONS. 

Article  I.  The  people  of  the  twenty-two  sovereign  Cantons  of  Switzer- 
land, united  by  the  present  alliance,  namely  :  Zurich,  Bern,  Lucerne, 
Uri,  Schwyz,  Unterwalden  (Upper  and  Lower),  Glarus,Zug,  Fribourg, 
Soleure,  Bdle  (city  and  country),  Schaffhausen,  Appenzell  (the  two 
Rhodes),  Saint  Gall,  Orisons,  Argovie,  Thurgovie,  Tessin,  Vaud,  Valais, 
Neuchdtel  and  Geneva,  form  in  a  body  the  SWISS  CONFEDERATION. 

Art.  2.  The  object  of  the  Confederation  is  to  insure  the  independence 
of  the  country  against  foreign  States,  to  maintain  tranquillity  and  order 
in  the  interior,  to  protect  the  liberty  and  the  rights  of  the  Confederates, 
and  to  further  their  common  \  rosperity. 

Art.  3.  The  Cantons  are  sovereign  so  far  as  their  sovereignty  is  not 
limited  by  the  Federal  Constitution,  and,  as  such,  they  exercise  all  the 
rights  that  are  not  delegated  to  the  Federal  power. 

Art.  4.  All  Swiss  are  equal  before  the  law.  In  Switzerland  there  are 
neither  subjects,  nor  any  privileges  of  place,  birth,  persons,  or  families. 

Art.  5.  The  Confederation  guarantees  to  the  Cantons  their  territory, 
their  sovereignty  within  the  limits  fixed  by  Art.  3,  their  Constitutions, 
the  liberty  and  rights  of  the  people,  the  constitutional  rights  of  the 
citizens,  as  well  as  the  rights  and  attributes  conferred  by  the  people  on 
the  authorities. 


248  SWISS     CONSTITUTION. 

Art.  6.  The  Cantons  are  bound  to  demand  from  the  Confederation 
the  guarantee  of  their  Constitutions.  This  guarantee  is  granted,  pro- 
vided: 

(a.)  That  these  Constitutions  contain  nothing  contrary  to  the 
provisions  of  the  Federal  Constitution  ; 

(b. )  That  they  insure  the  exercise  of  political  rights  in  accordance 
with  republican  forms,  representative  or  democratic ; 

(c. )  That  they  have  been  accepted  by  the  people,  and  that  they 
may  be  revised  whenever  the  absolute  majority  of  the  citizens 
demand  it. 

Art.  7.  All  separate  alliances  and  all  treaties  of  a  political  nature 
between  the  Cantons  are  prohibited.  On  the  other  hand  the  Cantons 
have  the  right  to  conclude  between  themselves  treaties  and  subjects  of 
legislation,  administration,  or  justice ;  these,  however,  must  be  brought 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  Federal  authority,  which  is  empowered  to  pre- 
vent their  execution,  if  such  treaties  contain  anything  contrary  to  the 
Confederation,  or  to  the  rights  of  the  other  Cantons.  In  the  other  case 
the  contracting  Cantons  are  authorized  to  demand  the  cooperation  of  the 
Federal  authorities  for  their  execution. 

Art.  8.  The  Confederation  alone  has  the  right  to  declare  wr  and  to 
conclude  peace,  as  well  as  to  form  alliances  and  make  treaties  with  for- 
eign States,  particularly  excise  (customs)  and  commercial  treaties. 

Art.  9.  By  way  of  exception  the  Cantons  retain  the  right  of  making 
treaties  with  foreign  States  on  matters  concerning  public  economy,  the 
relations  of  neighborhood  and  police  ;  these  treaties,  however,  shall  not 
contain  anything  contrary  to  the  Confederation  and  the  rights  of  other 
Cantons. 

Art.  10.  Official  intercourse  between  the  Cantons  and  foreign  govern- 
ments, or  with  their  representatives,  takes  place  by  means  of  the  Federal 
Council.  However,  the  Cantons  may  correspond  directly  with  the  infer- 
ior authorities  and  officials  of  a  foreign  State,  whenever  the  objects  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  article  may  require  it. 

Art.  ii.     No  military  capitulations  shall  be  effected. 

Art.  12.  The  members  of  the  Federal  authorities,  the  civil  and  mili- 
tary officials  of  the  Confederation,  and  the  Federal  representatives,  or 
commissioners,  cannot  receive  any  pensions,  emoluments,  titles,  gifts  or 
decorations  from  any  foreign  government. — If  they  are  already  the  hold- 
ers of  pensions,  titles  or  decorations,  they  must  renounce  the  enjoyment 
of  their  pensions  and  the  wearing  of  their  titles  and  decorations  during 
their  term  of  office. — The  inferior  employees,  however,  may  be  author- 
ized by  the  Federal  Council  to  receive  their  pensions. — No  decoration  or 
title  granted  by  a  foreign  government  can  be  worn  in  the  Federal 
Army. — All  officers,  non-commissioned  officers  and  soldiers  are  forbidden 
to  accept  distinctions  of  this  kind. 


SWISS     CONSTITUTION.  249 

Art.  13.  The  Confederation  has  no  right  to  maintain  standing  troops. 
— No  Canton  or  half-Canton  can  have  more  than  300  men  of  permanent 
troops,  unless  authorized  by  the  Federal  power;  the  "gendarmerie"  is 
not  included  in  this  number. 

Art.  14.  In  case  of  any  controversies  arising  between  Cantons,  the 
States  will  refrain  from  any  forcible  interference  and  from  all  armament. 
They  shall  submit  to  the  decision  to  be  given  on  such  differences  in  con- 
formity with  the  Federal  prescriptions. 

Art.  15.  In  case  of  sudden  danger  from  abroad,  the  Government  of 
the  threatened  Canton  shall  ask  for  the  aid  of  the  Confederated  States 
and  immediately  notify  the  Federal  authority,  without  thereby  in  any 
manner  precluding  the  measures  taken  by  the  latter.  The  Cantons 
called  on  are  bound  to  lend  their  assistance.  The  expenses  are  borne  by 
the  Confederation. 

Art.  1 6.  In  case  of  internal  troubles,  or  when  the  danger  comes  from 
another  Canton,  the  Government  of  the  threatened  Canton  shall  imme- 
diately notify  the  Federal  Council  thereof,  so  that  it  may  take  the  neces- 
sary measures  within  the  limits  of  its  powers  (Article  102,  \\  3,  10  and  n), 
or  convene  the  National  Assembly.  In  cases  of  urgency  the  Govern- 
ment is  authorized  to  demand  the  aid  of  other  Confederated  States, 
which  are  bound  to  give  it,  and  the  Federal  Council  shall  be  immediately 
notified. — When  the  Government  is  not  able  to  invoke  such  aid,  the 
competent  Federal  authority  may  intervene  without  any  requisition,  and 
it  becomes  its  duty  to  do  so  whenever  the  disturbances  jeopardize  the 
safety  of  Switzerland. — In  case  of  intervention  the  Federal  authorities 
take  care  that  the  provisions  contained  in  Article  5  are  duly  observed. — 
The  expenses  are  borne  by  the  Canton  that  has  demanded  such  aid  or 
has  been  the  cause  of  the  intervention,  unless  the  Federal  Assembly 
should  decide  otherwise  in  consideration  of  special  circumstances. 

Art.  17.  In  the  cases  mentioned  in  the  two  preceding  articles  each 
Canton  is  bound  to  grant  free  transit  to  the  troops.  These  latter  shall 
be  immediatelly  placed  under  Federal  command. 

Art.  1 8.  All  Swiss  are  liable  to  military  service. — The  military  who 
whilst  in  the  Federal  service  lose  their  lives,  or  whose  health  becomes 
permanently  impaired,  are  entitled  to  succor  from  the  Confederation  for 
themselves  or  for  their  families,  if  they  are  in  want.  Each  soldier 
receives  his  first  arms  and  accoutrements  and  clothing  free  of  charge. 
The  arms  remain  in  possession  of  the  soldier  under  such  conditions  as 
may  be  fixed  by  Federal  legislation.  The  Confederation  shall  make  uni- 
form regulations  concerning  the  military  exemption  tax. 

Art.  19.     The  Federal  Army  is  composed  of : 
(a.}    the  bodies  of  troops  of  the  Cantons  ; 

(6.)    all  Swiss  who  do  not  belong  to  these  bodies,  but  are  never- 
theless liable  to  military  service. 


250  SWISS     CONSTITUTION. 

The  right  to  dispose  of  the  Army-,  as  well  as  of  the  war  material  provided 
by  law,  belongs  to  the  Confederation  — In  case  of  danger  the  Confedera- 
tion also  has  the  right  to  dispose  exclusively  and  directly  of  the  men  not 
incorporated  in  the  Federal  Army,  and  of  all  other  military  resources 
of  the  Cantons. — The  Cantons  dispose  of  the  military  forces  of  their 
territory,  inasmuch  as  this  right  is  not  limited  by  the  Constitution  or 
the  Federal  laws. 

Art.  20.  All  laws  on  the  organization  of  the  Army  emanate  from  the 
Confederation.  The  execution  of  the  military  laws  in  the  Cantons  is 
confided  to  the  cantonal  authorities  within  the  limits  to  be  fixed  by 
Federal  legislation  and  under  the  supervision  of  the  Confederation. — 
Military  instruction,  as  a  whole,  appertains  to  the  Confederation  ;  the 
armament  likewise. — The  supplying  of  and  keeping  in  order  the  clothing 
and  equipment  belong  to  the  cantonal  authorities  ;  however,  the  ex- 
penses resulting  therefrom  shall  be  credited  to  the  Cantons  by  the  Con- 
federation, in  conformity  with  regulations  to  be  established  by  Federal 
legislation. 

Art.  21.  Unless  military  considerations  oppose  it,  the  bodies  shall  be 
formed  of  troops  of  the  same  Canton. — The  composition  of  these  bodies 
of  troops,  the  care  of  maintaining  their  strength,  the  nomination  and 
promotion  of  the  officers  of  these  bodies,  belong  to  the  Cantons,  subject 
to  the  general  regulations,  which  shall  be  transmitted  to  them  by  the 
Confederation. 

Art.  22.  By  means  of  an  equitable  compensation  the  Confederation 
has  the  right  to  make  use  or  become  the  owner  of  the  drilling  grounds 
and  buildings  of  a  military  character  that  may  exist  in  the  Cantons,  as 
well  as  their  dependencies. — The  terms  of  such  indemnity  shall  be  regu- 
lated by  Federal  legislation. 

Art.  23.  The  Confederation  may  order  at  its  own  expense,  or  by 
granting  subsidies,  such  public  works  as  may  be  of  benefit  to  Switzer- 
land or  to  a  considerable  portion  of  the  country. — For  this  purpose  she 
may  order  expropriations,  granting  a  just  compensation.  The  Federal 
legislation  shall  make  the  necessary  laws  on  this  subject.  The  Federal 
Assembly  may  forbid  public  buildings  of  a  nature  to  jeopardize  the  mili- 
tary interests  of  the  Confederation. 

Art.  24.  The  Confederation  has  the  right  of  high  supervision  over  the 
dike  and  forest  police  in  the  high  regions.  She  shall  take  part  in  the 
correcting  and  banking  of  torrents,  as  well  as  the  replanting  of  trees  in 
regions  where  they  take  their  sources.  She  shall  decree  the  necessary 
measures  for  insuring  the  keeping  of  such  works  and  the  preservation 
of  the  existing  forests. 

Art.  25.  The  Confederation  has  the  right  to  make  proper  legislation 
for  regulating  the  practice  of  fishing  and  hunting,  especially  with  a  view 
to  preserving  the  large  game  in  the  mountains,  and  also  for  the  protec- 
tion of  birds  useful  to  agriculture  and  to  the  cultivation  of  the  forests. 


SWISS     CONSTITUTION.  251 

Art.  26.  Legislation  on  the  construction  and  management  of  railroads 
is  within  the  sphere  of  the  Confederation. 

Art.  27.  The  Confederation  has  the  right  to  create,  in  addition  to  the 
existing  Polytechnic  School,  a  Federal  University  and  other  higher  edu- 
cational establishments,  or  to  subsidize  similar  institutions. — The  Cantons 
provide  for  primary  instruction,  which  shall  be  sufficient  and  be  placed 
exclusively  under  the  direction  of  the  civil  authority.  It  shall  be  obliga- 
tory and  free  iii  the  public  schools. — The  public  schools  shall  be  open  to 
the  adherents  of  all  confessions,  and  their  liberty  of  conscience  and  creed 
shall  not  be  interfered  with  in  any  manner. — The  Confederation  shall 
take  the  necessary  measures  against  the  Cantons  that  do  not  conform  to 
these  obligations. 

Art.  28.  All  excise  matters  belong  to  the  Confederation.  It  may  col- 
lect import  and  export  duties. 

Art.  29.     The  collection  of  Federal  revenues  shall  be  regulated  accord- 
ing to  the  following  principles  : 
ist.     Import  Duties  : 

(a.)     Articles  necessary  to  the  industry  and  agriculture  of  the 
country  shall  be  taxed  as  low  as  possible. 

(b.)    The  same  with  articles  necessary  to  life. 
(c.)     Articles  of  luxury  shall  be  subject  to  the  highest  taxes. 
Unless  there  be  powerful  impediments,  these  principles  shall 
also  be  observed,  when   treaties  of  commerce  are  made  with 
foreign  countries. 

2d.     Export  duties  shall  be  as  light  as  possible. 
3d.     Legislation  on  excise  shall  contain  the  necessary  provisions 

to  protect  frontier  and  inland  trade. 

The  foregoing  provisions  do  not  prevent  the  Confederation  from  taking 
temporarily  exceptional  measures  under  extraordinary  circumstances. 

Art.  30.  The  proceeds  of  revenue  belong  to  the  Confederation. — The 
indemnities  paid  up  to  date  to  the  Cantons  for  the  redemption  of  excises, 
road  and  bridge  tolls,  customs-duties  and  other  similar  emoluments,  are 
abolished. — The  Cantons  of  Uri,  Grisons,  Tessin  and  Valais  receive,  by 
way  of  exception  and  on  account  of  their  international  Alpine  roads,  an 
annual  indemnity,  the  amounts  of  which,  taking  into  account  all  circum- 
stances, are  fixed  as  follows  :  Uri,  80,000  francs  •  Grisons,  200,000  francs  ; 
Tessin,  200,000  francs;  Valais,  50,000  francs. — The  Cantons  of  Uri  and 
of  Tessin  shall  receive  in  addition  for  the  removal  of  the  snow  on  the 
Saint  Gotthard  road  an  annual  indemnity  of  40,000  francs,  as  long  as  this 
road  shall  not  be  replaced  by  a  railroad. 

Art.  31.  Liberty  of  commerce  and  of  industry  is  guaranteed  through- 
out the  Confederation. — The  following  are  reserved  : 

(«.)  The  sale  of  salt  and  of  gunpowder  for  war  purposes,  the 
Federal  excises,  the  import  duties  on  wines  and  other  spirituous 
liquors,  as  well  as  the  other  taxes  of  consumption  formally  recog- 
nized by  the  Confederaton,  as  per  Article  32. 


252  SWISS     CONSTITUTION. 

(£.)  The  manufacture  and  sale  of  distilled  liquors  in  conformity 
with  Article  32  bis. 

(c.}  Everything  concerning  the  inns  and  the  retail  trade  in 
spirituous  liquors,  in  so  much  as  the  Cantons  have  the  right  to 
subject,  by  means  of  legislation,  the  exercise  of  the  business  of 
innkeeper  and  the  trade  in  spirituous  liquors  to  such  restrictions  as 
may  be  required  for  the  public  welfare. 

(d.)  The  measures  of  the  sanitary  police  against  epidemics  and 
epizootics. 

(e. )  The  measures  relating  to  the  exercise  of  mercantile  and 
industrial  professions,  the  taxes  pertaining  thereto,  and  the  road 
police.  These  measures  shall  not  contain  anything  contrary  to  the 
principles  of  liberty  of  commerce  and  industry. 

Art.  32.  The  Cantons  are  authorized  to  collect  the  import  duties  on 
wines  and  other  spirituous  liquors  provided  in  Article  31,  letter  (a), 
however,  under  the  following  restrictions  : 

(a. )  The  collection  of  these  duties  shall  in  no  wise  impede  the 
transit ;  it  shall  impede  commerce  as  little  as  possible,  which  shall 
not  be  subject  to  any  other  tax. 

(b.)  If  the  articles  imported  for  consumption  are  re-exported 
from  the  Canton,  the  import  duties  shall  be  refunded  without  caus- 
ing any  other  charge. 

(c.)  Products  of  Swiss  origin  shall  be  taxed  less  than  those 
imported  from  abroad. 

(d.}  The  present  import  duties  on  wines  and  other  spirituous 
liquors  of  Swiss  origin  shall  not  be  raised  by  the  Cantons  in  which 
they  now  exist. 

(e.)  The  laws  and  ordinances  of  the  Cantons  on  the  collection  of 
import  duties  are  submitted  for  the  approval  of  the  Federal  authori- 
ties before  their  execution,  so  as  to  enable  them,  if  necessary,,  to  cause 
the  foregoing  provisions  to  be  observed. 

All  import  duties  at  present  collected  by  the  Cantons,  as  well  as 
similar  taxes  collected  by  the  communities,  shall  be  abolished  without 
any  indemnity  at  the  expiration  of  the  year  1890. 

Art.  32  bis.  The  Confederation  has  the  right  to  make,  by  legislation, 
provisions  for  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  distilled  liquors.  However, 
these  provisions  shall  not  tax  products  that  are  exported,  or  that  have 
gone  through  a  process  rendering  them  unfit  to  serve  as  drink.  The 
distillation  of  wine,  stone  or  seed  fruits  and  their  refuse,  of  gentian  root, 
juniper  berries  and  other  similar  matters,  is  excepted  from  the 
Federal  prescriptions  concerning  manufacture  and  taxes. — After  the 
abolition  of  import  duties  on  the  spirituous  liquors  mentioned  in 
Article  32  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  the  commerce  of  uudistilled 
alcoholic  liquors  shall  not  be  subjected  any  longer  by  the  Cantons 


SWISS     CONSTITUTION.  253 

to  any  special  tax,  nor  to  any  other  restrictions  but  such  as  are 
necessary  to  protect  the  consumer  against  spurious  liquors  or  those 
injurious  to  health.  As  to  the  innkeepers'  trade  and  the  sale  at  retail  of 
quantities  less  than  two  litres,  the  provisions  contained  in  Article  31 
remain  in  force. — The  net  receipts  derived  from  the  tax  on  the  sale 
of  distilled  beverages  remain  the  property  of  the  Cantons  in  which 
such  taxes  are  collected. — The  net  receipts  of  the  Confederation 
resulting  from  home  distilling  and  the  corresponding  increase  in 
the  import  duties  on  foreign  distilled  liquors,  shall  be  distributed 
among  all  the  Cantons  in  proportion  to  their  actual  population,  as 
fixed  by  the  most  recent  Federal  census.  The  Cantons  are  bound 
to  use  at  least  ten  per  cent  of  the  receipts  to  combat  alcoholism  in 
its  causes  and  effects. 

Art.  33.  The  Cantons  may  require  proofs  of  competency  on  the  part 
of  those  who  want  to  practice  liberal  professions. — The  Federal 
legislation  shall  provide  that  these  latter  may  obtain  the  proper  testimo- 
nials of  capacity  available  in  the  whole  Confederation. 

Art.  34.  The  Confederation  has  the  right  to  make  uniform  laws 
for  the  work  of  children  in  factories,  on  the  length  of  the  working 
time  that  may  be  required  there  from  adults,  and  on  the  protection  to  be 
extended  to  the  workingmen  against  the  exercise  of  unhealthy  and 
dangerous  industries. — The  operations  of  emigration  and  insurance 
agencies  not  instituted  by  the  Government  are  subject  to  Federal  control 
and  legislation. 

Art.  34  bis.  The  Confederation  shall  introduce,  by  legislative  process, 
insurance  in  case  of  accidents  and  illness,  with  due  regard  to  the  exist- 
ing relief  funds.  It  may  decree  a  general  obligatory  participation  in 
such  insurance,  or  only  for  certain  classes  of  citizens. 

Art.  35.  It  is  forbidden  to  open  gambling  houses.  Those  at  present 
existing  shall  be  closed  on  the  3ist  of  December,  1877. — The  concessions 
that  may  have  been  granted  or  renewed  since  the  commencement  of 
the  year  1871,  are  hereby  declared  void. — The  Confederation  may  also 
take  the  necessary  measures  relating  to  lotteries. 

Art.  36.  The  posts  and  telegraphs  throughout  Switzerland  are  under 
Federal  control. — The  proceeds  of  the  posts  and  telegraphs  belong  to  the 
Federal  Treasury. — The  rates  shall  be  fixed  according  to  the  same 
principles  and  as  equitable  as  possible  in  all  parts  of  Switzerland. — The 
inviolability  of  the  secrecy  of  letters  and  telegrams  is  guaranteed. 

Art.  37.  The  Confederation  exercises  supreme  control  over  such 
roads  and  bridges  as  it  is  interested  in  maintaining. — The  sums  due  to  the 
Cantons  designated  iu  Article  30,  on  account  of  their  international  Alpine 
roads,  shall  be  retained  by  the  Federal  authority  if  these  roads  are  not 
properly  kept  in  order  by  them. 

Art.  38.  The  Confederation  exercises  all  the  rights  pertaining  to  the 
coinage  of  money.  It  has  the  sole  right  of  coinage. — It  fixes  the 


254  SWISS    CONSTITUTION. 

monetary  system  and  may  make  laws,  if  necessary,  for  the  rate  of 
exchange  of  foreign  coins. 

Art.  39.  The  Confederation  has  the  right  to  decree  by  legislative 
process  general  regulations  on  the  issue  and  redemption  of  bank- 
notes.— It  shall  not,  however,  create  any  monopoly  for  the  issue  of  bank- 
notes,  nor  decree  the  obligatory  course  of  such  notes. 

Art.  40.  The  Confederation  shall  determine  the  system  of  weights 
and  measures. — The  Cantons  shall  execute  the  laws  relating  to  this 
subject  under  the  supervision  of  the  Confederation. 

Art.  41.  The  manufacture  and  sale  of  war  gunpowder  in  the  whole  of 
Switzerland  belongs  exclusively  to  the  Confederation. — Mining  com- 
pounds not  suitable  for  shooting  are  not  comprised  in  the  sale  of 
powder. 

Art.  42.     The  expenditures  of  the  Confederation  are  covered : 
(a.)     By  the  product  of  the  Federal  property  ; 
(&.)    By  the  product  of  Federal  duties  collected  on  the  Swiss 
frontier ; 

(c. )     By  the  product  of  the  posts  and  telegraphs  ; 
(d. )     By  the  product  of  the  sale  of  powder ; 

(<?.)  By  one-half  of  the  gross  product  of  the  military  exemption 
tax  collected  by  the  Cantons  ; 

(/. )  By  the  contributions  of  the  Cantons,  to  be  regulated  by 
Federal  legislation,  with  particular  reference  to  their  wealth  and 
taxable  resources. 

Art.  43.  Every  citizen  of  a  Canton  is  a  Swiss  citizen  — He  may,  as 
such,  take  part  at  the  place  of  his  residence  in  all  elections  and  voting 
on  Federal  matters,  after  having  duly  qualified  as  an  elector. — Nobody 
can  exercise  political  rights  in  more  than  one  Canton. — A  Swiss,  estab- 
lished in  the  place  of  his  residence,  enjoys  all  the  rights  of  the  citizens 
of  the  Canton,  and  with  them  all  the  rights  of  the  members  of  the  com- 
munity. The  participation  in  the  property  of  the  citizens  and  corpora- 
tions and  the  right  to  vote  in  exclusively  communal  affairs,  are  excepted 
from  these  rights,  unless  otherwise  provided  by  the  Cantonal  legislation. 
— In  Cantonal  and  communal  affairs  he  becomes  an  elector  after  an 
establishment  of  three  months.  The  Cantonal  laws  on  the  establishment 
and  the  electoral  rights  held  by  the  established  citizens  in  communal 
matters  are  submitted  to  the  Federal  Council  for  its  sanction. 

Art.  44.  No  Canton  can  remove  from  its  territory  any  of  its  depen- 
dents, nor  deprive  him  of  his  rights  of  origin  or  residence. — The 
Federal  legislation  shall  fix  the  conditions  under  which  foreigners 
may  be  naturalized,  and  those  under  which  a  Swiss  may  renounce 
his  nationality  in  order  to  obtain  naturalization  in  a  foreign  country. 
Art.  45.  Any  Swiss  citizen  has  the  right  to  settle  in  any  part  of  the 
Swissterritory by producingcertificateof birth, orasirnilardocument.  By 


SWISS     CONSTITUTION.  255 

way  of  exception,  the  right  of  settlement  may  be  refused  to  or  withdrawn 
from  those  who  by  virtue  of  a  penal  sentence  have  been  deprived  of 
their  civic  rights. — Settlement  may  also  be  withdrawn  from  those  who 
have  been  repeatedly  punished  for  serious  offenses,  as  well  as  from  those 
who  become  a  permanent  charge  on  public  charity,  and  to  whom  their 
community  ortheCantonoftheirorigin  refuses  sufficient  aid  afterhaving 
been  officially  requested  to  render  it. — In  the  Cantons  in  which  coun- 
ciliary  assistance  is  rendered,  permission  to  settle  may  be  subjected,  in 
the  case  of  citizens  of  the  Canton,  to  the  condition  that  they  be  able  to 
work  and  that  they  have  not  become  permanently  objects  of  public 
charity  in  the  place  of  their  former  residence  in  the  Canton  of  their 
origin. — All  removals  on  account  of  poverty  must  be  ratified  by  the 
Government  of  the  Canton  where  they  reside  and  be  communicated 
previously  to  the  Government  of  the  Canton  of  origin.— The  Canton  in 
which  a  Swiss  may  establish  his  residence  cannot  require  from  him  any 
bonds,  nor  make  any  special  charge  for  such  establishment.  In  like 
manner  the  communities  cannot  levy  on  the  Swiss  established  on  their 
territory  any  other  contributions  than  those  levied  on  their  own 
citizens. — A  Federal  law  shall  fix  the  maximum  of  the  official  fees  for 
obtaining  a  permit  of  residence. 

Art.  46.  Persons  established  in  Switzerland  are  subject,  as  a  rule,  to 
the  jurisdiction  and  legislation  of  the  place  of  their  residence  in  all 
matters  regarding  the  relations  of  civil  rights. — Federal  legislation  shall 
make  the  necessary  provisions  with  the  view  of  applying  this  principle 
and  to  prevent  a  citizen  from  being  taxed  double. 

Art.  47.  A  Federal  law  shall  determine  the  difference  between  estab- 
lishment and  sojourn,  as  well  as  the  rules  to  which  sojourning  Swiss  shall 
be  liable,  as  to  their  political  and  civil  rights. 

Art.  48.  A  Federal  law  shall  enact  the  necessary  measures  for 
regulating  the  expenses  of  illness  and  of  burial  of  the  indigent  citi- 
zens of  a  Canton,  who  have  fallen  ill  or  died  in  another  Canton. 

Art.  49.  Liberty  of  conscience  and  creed  is  inviolable. — No  one  can 
be  compelled  to  form  part  of  any  religious  association,  to  follow  any 
religious  teachings,  to  perform  any  religious  act,  nor  to  incur  any 
penalty,  of  whatever  nature  it  may  be,  on  account  of  religious  opinions. 
— A  person  who  exercises  paternal  or  tutelary  authority  has  the  right  to 
guide  the  religious  education  of  the  children  up  to  the  age  of  sixteen 
completed  years. — The  exercise  of  civil  or  political  rights  cannot  be 
restricted  by  any  provisions  or  conditions  of  any  ecclesiastical  or  religious 
nature  of  any  kind  whatever. 

No  one  can,  on  account  of  religious  opinions,  shirk  the  fulfillment  of 
a  civic  duty.— No  one  is  obliged  to  pay  taxes,  the  product  of  which  is 
specially  dedicated  to  defray  the  particular  expenses  of  worship  of  a 
religious  community  he  does  not  belong  to.  The  final  execution  of  this 
principle  shall  be  left  to  Federal  legislation. 


256  SWISS     CONSTITUTION. 

Art.  50.  The  free  exercise  of  religious  creeds  is  guaranteed  within  the 
limits  compatible  with  public  order  and  good  morals. — The  Cantons  and 
the  Confederation  may  take  the  necessary  measures  for  preserving  public 
peace  and  order  between  the  members  of  the  different  religious  com- 
munities, as  well  as  against  the  encroachments  of  the  ecclesiastical  author- 
ities and  the  rights  of  the  citizens  and  the  State.  Controversies  in  public 
and  private  law,  which  might  arise  by  the  creation  of  religious  commu- 
nities, or  by  a  scission  in  existing  religious  communities,  may  be  taken 
before  the  competent  Federal  authorities  by  way  of  recourse. — No 
bishopric  shall  be  erected  on  Swiss  territory  without  the  approval  of  the 
Confederation. 

Art.  51.  The  order  of  the  Jesuits  and  the  societies  affiliated  therewith 
cannot  be  received  in  any  part  of  Switzerland,  and  all  action  in  Church 
and  School  is  forbidden  to  their  members.  This  interdiction  may  also  be 
extended,  by  means  of  Federal  decree,  to  any  other  religious  orders 
whose  actions  are  dangerous  to  the  State  or  disturb  the  peace  between 
sects. 

Art.  52.  It  is  forbidden  to  found  new  convents  or  religious  orders, 
and  to  re-establish  those  that  have  been  suppressed. 

Art.  53.  The  civil  status  and  the  keeping  of  the  corresponding  regis- 
ters belong  to  the  civil  authorities.  Federal  legislation  shall  make  the 
necessary  final  laws  on  this  subject. — The  right  to  dispose  of  places  of 
burial  belongs  to  the  civil  authority.  It  shall  take  care  that  all  deceased 
persons  receive  a  decent  burial. 

Art.  54.  The  right  of  marriage  is  placed  under  the  protection  of  the 
Confederation. — No  impediment  to  marriage  shall  be  founded  on  sec- 
tarian grounds,  on  the  poverty  of  either  of  the  contracting  parties,  on 
their  conduct,  or  on  any  other  police  motive  of  any  sort. — A  marriage 
contracted  in  a  Canton,  or  abroad,  in  accordance  with  the  existing  laws 
there,  shall  be  recognized  as  valid  in  the  whole  Confederation. — The 
wife  acquires  by  marriage  the  right  of  residence  and  citizenship  of  her 
husband. — The  children  born  before  marriage  become  legitimate  by  the 
subsequent  marriage  of  their  parents. — No  admission  fee,  nor  any  similar 
tax,  can  be  levied  on  either  husband  or  wife. 

Art.  55.  Liberty  of  the  press  is  guaranteed. — Nevertheless  the  Cantonal 
laws  shall  make  the  necessary  provisions  for  the  repression  of  abuses ; 
such  laws  shall  be  submitted  to  the  Federal  Council  for  approval. — The 
Confederation  may  also  establish  penalties  for  the  repression  of  abuses 
aimed  at  itself  or  at  its  authorities. 

Art.  56.  The  citizens  have  the  right  to  form  associations,  provided 
that  there  be  nothing  illicit  or  dangerous  to  the  State  in  the  object  of 
such  associations,  or  in  the  means  they  employ.  Cantonal  laws  shall 
provide  the  necessary  measures  for  the  suppression  of  such  abuses. 

Art.  57.    The  right  of  petition  is  guaranteed. 


SWISS     CONSTITUTION.  257 

Art.  58.  Nobody  can  be  deprived  of  his  natural  judge.  Therefore  no 
extraordinary  tribunals  can  be  established. — Ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  is 
abolished. 

Art.  59.  For  personal  reclamations  the  solvent  debtor  residing  in 
Switzerland  must  be  sued  before  the  judge  of  his  residence  ;  his  property 
tnerefore  cannot  be  seized,  or  confiscated,  outside  of  the  Canton  in  which 
he  resides,  to  satisfy  personal  reclamations. — With  regard  to  foreigners 
the  provisions  of  international  treaties  are  to  be  observed. — Bodily 
restraint  is  abolished. 

Art.  60.  All  the  Cantons  are  bound  to  treat  the  citizens  of  the  other 
Confederated  States  as  those  of  their  own  State  in  matters  of  legislation 
and  in  everything  concerning  judicial  proceedings. 

Art.  61.  Definite  civil  judgments  rendered  in  one  Canton  can  be  exe- 
cuted anywhere  in  Switzerland. 

Art.  62.  Foreign  export  duties  are  abolished  in  the  interior  of  Swit- 
zerland, as  well  as  the  right  of  withdrawal  of  the  citizens  of  one  Canton 
against  those  of  other  Confederated  States. 

Art.  63.  Foreign  export  duties  are  abolished,  as  regards  foreign 
countries,  reciprocity  being  observed. 

Art.  64.  Legislation  :  On  civil  capacity;  on  all  matters  of  law  relating 
to  commerce  and  to  transactions  in  movable  property  (law  of  obliga- 
tions including  commercial  and  exchange  laws);  on  literary  and  artis- 
tic copyright ;  on  the  protection  of  new  designs  and  models,  as  well  as 
inventions  represented  by  models  and  applicable  to  industry  ;  on  prose- 
cution for  debt  and  insolvency  : — all  belongs  to  the  Confederation.  The 
administration  of  justice  belongs  to  the  Cantons,  reserving  the  powers 
of  the  Federal  Tribunal. 

Art.  65.  No  death  sentence  can  be  pronounced  on  account  of  political 
offenses. — Corporal  punishment  is  abolished. 

Art.  66.  Federal  legislation  determines  the  limits  within  which  a 
Swiss  citizen  can  be  deprived  of  his  political  rights. 

Art.  67.  Federal  legislation  shall  take  action  on  the  extradition  of 
the  accused  from  one  Canton  to  another  Canton;  extradition,  however, 
cannot  be  made  obligatory  for  political  and  press  offenses. 

Art.  68.  The  measures  to  be  taken  for  incorporating  persons  without 
any  country  and  for  preventing  new  cases  of  this  nature,  are  regulated 
by  Federal  law. 

Art.  69.  The  Confederation  shall  enact  the  necessary  laws  against 
epidemics  and  epizootics  presenting  general  danger. 

Art.  70.     The  Confederation  has  the  right  to  banish  from  its  territory 
such  foreigners  as  endanger  the  internal  and  external  security  of  Swit- 
'  zerland. 


258  SWISS     CONSTITUTION. 

CHAPTER    II. 

FEDERAL   AUTHORITIES 

I.    FEDERAL  ASSEMBLY. 

Art.  71.  Reserving  the  rights  of  the  people  and  of  the  Cantons 
(Articles  89  and  121),  the  supreme  authority  of  the  Confederation  is  exer- 
cised by  the  Federal  Assembly,  consisting  of  two  sections,  or  councils, 
to  wit : 

(a.)     The  National  Council. 
(£.)     The  Council  of  States. 

Art.  72.  The  National  Council  is  composed  of  deputies  from  the 
Swiss  people,  elected  at  the  rate  of  one  member  for  20,000  souls  of  the 
entire  population.  Fractions  over  10,000  souls  are  counted  as  20,000. — 
Each  Canton,  and  in  the  divided  Cantons,  each  half-Canton,  elects  at  least 
one  deputy. 

Art.  73.  The  elections  for  the  National  Council  are  direct.  They  take 
place  in  Federal  Electoral  districts,  which,  however,  cannot  be  formed  of 
parts  of  different  Cantons. 

Art.  74.  Every  Swiss  of  the  age  of  twenty  completed  years  and 
who  moreover  is  not  debarred  from  the  rights  of  an  active  citizen  by  the 
legislation  of  the  Canton  in  which  he  resides,  has  the  right  to  take  part 
in  the  elections  and  voting.  Federal  legislation,  however,  may  regulate 
the  exercise  of  this  right  in  a  uniform  manner. 

Art.  75.  Every  lay  Swiss  citizen  entitled  to  vote  is  eligible  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  National  Council. 

Art.  76.  The  National  Council  is  elected  for  three  years,and  renewed 
every  time  entirely. 

Art.  77.  The  deputies  to  the  Council  of  States,  the  members  of  the 
Federal  Council  and  the  functionaries  named  by  the  Council,  cannot  at 
the  same  time  be  members  of  the  National  Council. 

Art.  78.  The  National  Council  chooses  from  its  number  for  each 
ordinary  and  extraordinary  session  a  President  and  a  Vice-President. — 
The  member  who  has  been  elected  President  during  an  ordinary  session 
cannot  at  the  following  ordinary  session  assume  that  office,  nor  that 
of  Vice-President. — The  same  member  cannot  be  Vice-President  during 
two  ordinary  successive  sessions. — When  the  votes  are  equally  divided, 
the  President  decides  ;  at  elections  he  votes  like  the  other  members. 

Art.  79.  The  members  of  the  National  Council  are  compensated  from 
the  National  Treasury. 

Art.  80.  The  Council  of  States  is  composed  of  forty-four  deputies 
from  the  Cantons.  Each  Canton  elects  two  deputies ;  in  the  divided 
Cantons  each  half-Canton  elects  one  deputy. 

Art.  Si.  The  members  of  the  National  Council  and  those  of  the  Fed- 
eral Council  cannot  be  deputies  in  the  Council  of  States. 


SWISS     CONSTITUTION.  259 

Art.  82.  The  Council  of  States  elects  from  its  midst,  for  each  ordinary 
or  extraordinary  session,  a  President  and  Vice-President.  Neither  the 
President  nor  the  Vice-President  can  be  elected  from  the  deputies  of  the 
Canton  in  which  the  President  for  the  ordinary  session  next  preceding 
has  been  elected. — The  deputies  from  the  same  Canton  cannot  assume 
the  office  of  Vice-President  during  two  ordinary  consecutive  sessions. — 
When  the  votes  are  equally  divided,  the  President  decides  ;  at  elec- 
tions he  votes  like  the  other  members. 

Art.  83.  The  deputies  to  the  Council  of  States  are  compensated  by 
the  Cantons. 

Art.  84.  The  National  Council  and  the  Council  of  States  deliberate 
on  all  matters  which  the  present  Constitution  places  under  the  control 
of  the  Confederation,  and  which  have  not  been  assigned  to  any  other 
Federal  authority. 

Art.  85.  The  matters  under  the  control  of  both  Councils  are  especially 
the  following : 

1.  The  laws   on  the   organization   and  mode  of  election  of  the 
Federal  authorities ; 

2.  The  laws  and  decrees   on   all   matters   placed  by  the  Constitu- 
tion under  Federal  control ; 

3.  The  compensation   and  emoluments  of  the  members  of  the 
authorities  of  the    Confederation    and   the   Federal  Chancery ;  the 
creation  of  permanent  Federal  offices  and  the  fixing  of  salaries  ; 

4.  The  election  of  the  Federal  Council,  the  Federal  Tribunal  and 
the   Chancellor,    as  well  as    the    General-in-Chief  of  the  Federal 
Army. — Federal  legislation   may  assign  to  the  Federal  Assembly 
other  rights  of  election    or  of  confirmation  ; 

5.  Alliances  and  treaties  with  foreign  States,  as  also  the  sanction 
of  treaties  of  the  Cantons  between  themselves    or  with  foreign 
States  ;  the  treaties  of  the  Cantons,  however,  are  not  brought  before 
the  Federal  Assembly,  unless  the  Federal  Council    or  another  Can- 
ton raises  objections  thereto ; 

6.  Measures  for  external  security  and  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
independence   and   neutrality   of  Switzerland ;  declarations  of  war 
and  of  peace  ; 

7.  The  guarantee  of  the  Constitution    and  of  the  territory  of  the 
Cantons ;  intervention  in  consequence  of  this  guarantee ;  measures 
for  the  internal  security   of  Switzerland  ;  for   the  maintenance  of 
peace  and  order,  amnesty  and  the  right  of  pardon  ; 

8.  Measures  to  enforce     respect   for  the   Federal   Constitution 
and  to  insure  the  guarantee  of  the  cantonal  Constitutions,  as  well 
as  such  measures  as  aim  to  enforce  the  fulfillment  cf  Federal  duties ; 

9.  The  right  to  dispose  of  the  Federal  army  ; 

10.  The  settlement  of  the  annual  budget,  the   audit  of  the 
Government  accounts,  and  decrees  authorizing  loans  : 


260  SWISS     CONSTITUTION. 

11.  The  high  supervision    of  the    Federal   a  ^ministration   and 
iustice; 

12.  The  Appeals  against  the  decisions  of  the  Federal  Council 
relating  to  administrative  controversies  ; 

13.  The  conflicts  of  jurisdiction  between  Federal  authorities  ; 

14.  The  revision  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

Art.  86.  The  two  Councils  assemble  once  a  year  in  ordinary  session 
on  the  day  fixed  by  the  rules. — They  are  convened  in  extraordinary 
session  by  the  Federal  Council,  or  upon  demand  of  one-fourth  of  the 
members  of  the  National  Council,  or  upon  that  of  five  Cantons. 

Art.  87.  A  council  cannot  transact  any  business  unless  the  deputies 
present  compose  the  absolute  majority  of  the  total  number  of  its 
members. 

Art.  88.  In  the  National  Council  and  in  the  Council  of  States  the 
resolutions  are  passed  by  an  absolute  majority  vote  of  those  who  vote. 

Art.  89.  Federal  laws,  decrees  and  resolutions  can  only  be  passed  by 
the  concurrence  of  both  Councils. — Federal  laws  are  submitted  to  the 
people  for  their  adoption  or  rejection  if  30,000  active  citizens  or  eight 
Cantons  demand  it.  It  shall  be  the  same  with  Federal  decisions  of  a 
general  bearing  and  which  are  not  of  an  urgent  character. 

Art.  90.  Federal  legislation  shall  determine  the  forms  and  methods 
to  be  observed  for  the  popular  voting. 

Art.  91.  The  members  of  both  Councils  vote  without  any  instruc- 
tions. 

Art.  92.  Each  Council  deliberates  separately.  However,  in  the  case 
of  the  elections  mentioned  in  Article  85,  \  4,  when  the  right  of  pardon 
is  to  be  exercised  or  a  conflict  of  jurisdiction  is  to  be  decided  (Article  85, 
$  13),  the  two  Councils  unite  to  deliberate  in  common  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  President  of  the  National  Council,  and  a  majority  of  the 
voting  members  of  both  Councils  decide. 

Art.  93.  Either  of  the  two  Councils  can  originate  bills,  and  so  can 
any  member.  The  Cantons  may  exercise  the  same  right  by  correspon- 
dence. 

Art.  94.     As  a  rule  the  sessions  of  the  Councils  are  public, 

II.    FEDERAL  COUNCIL. 

Art.  95.  The  supreme  ruling  and  executive  authority  of  the  Confeder- 
ation is  exercised  by  a  Federal  Council  composed  of  seven  members. 

Art.  96.  The  members  of  the  Federal  Council  are  appointed  for  three 
years  by  the  United  Councils,  and  chosen  among  the  Swiss  citizens 
eligible  to  the  National  Council.  However,  one  member  only  from  the 
same  Canton  can  be  appointed  to  the  Federal  Council. — The  Federal 
Council  is  entirely  renewed  after  each  renewal  of  the  National  Council. — 


SWISS     CONSTITUTION.  261 

Vacancies  of  members  during  the  term  of  three  years  are  filled  at  the 
first  session  of  the  Federal  Assembly  for  the  remainder  of  their  term  of 
office. 

Art.  97.  The  members  of  the  Federal  Council  cannot  hold  any  other 
employment  during  their  term  of  office,  either  in  the  service  of  the 
Confederation  or  in  a  Canton,  nor  can  they  follow  any  other  calling, 
or  exercise  any  profession. 

Art.  98.  The  Federal  Council  is  presided  over  by  the  President  of  the 
Confederation.  He  has  a  Vice-President. — The  President  of  the  Con- 
federation and  the  Vice-President  of  the  Federal  Council  are  elected  for 
one  year  by  the  Federal  Assembly  among  the  members  of  the  Council.  — 
The  outgoing  President  cannot  be  elected  President  or  Vice-President 
for  the  ensuing  year. — The  same  member  cannot  hold  the  office  of  Vice- 
President  during  two  consecutive  years. 

Art.  99.  The  President  of  the  Confederation  and  the  other  members 
of  the  Federal  Council  receive  an  annual  salary  from  the  Federal 
Treasury. 

Art.  100.  The  Federal  Council  cannot  transact  any  business  unless 
there  be  at  least  four  members  present. 

Art.  101.  The  members  of  the  Federal  Council  have  a  consulting 
vote  in  both  sections  of  the  Federal  Assembly,  as  well  as  the  right  to 
make  motions  on  the  subjects  in  discussion. 

Art.  102.  The  powers  and  duties  of  the  Federal  Council  within 
the  limits  of  the  present  Constitution  are  especially  the  following,  viz. : 

1.  It  conducts  Federal  affairs  according  to  the  laws  and  enact- 
ments of  the  Confederation. 

2.  It  sees  that  the  Constitution,  laws  and  decrees  of  the  Confed- 
eration are  duly  observed,  as  well  as  the   provisions  of  the  Federal 
compacts;  it  takes  by  its  own   initiative,  or  upon  complaint,  the 
necessary  measures  to  enforce  obedience  to  them,  when  the  recourse 
is  not  of  the  number  of  those  that  properly  come  before  the  Federal 
Tribunal,  according  to  Article  113. 

3.  It  sees  to  the  guaranty  of  the  Cantonal  Constitutions. 

4.  It  may  introduce  motions  and  resolutions  in  the  Federal  As- 
sembly, and  gives  its  opinion  on  propositions  laid  before  it  by  the 
Councils  or  by  the  Cantons. 

5.  It  provides  for  the  execution  of  the  laws  and  resolutions  of  the 
Confederation  and  for  that  of  the  judgments  of  the  Federal  Tribunal, 
as  well  as  the  compromises  or  awards  of  arbitration  on  differences 
between  Cantons. 

6.  It  makes  all  appointments  not  assigned  to  the  Federal  Assem- 
bly, or  to  the  Federal  Tribunal,  or  to  any  other  authority. 

7.  It  examines  the  treaties  of  the  Cantons  between  themselves 
and  with  foreign  countries,  and  approves  them,  if  correct  (Article 
85,  \  5)- 


262  SWISS    CONSTITUTION. 

8.  It  watches  over  the  interests  of  the  Confederation  abroad, 
especially  over  the  observance  of  her  international  relations,  and 
it  has  general  charge  of  foreign  relations. 

9.  It  supervises  the  external  security  of  Switzerland,  the  pre- 
servation of  her  independence  and  her  neutrality. 

10.  It  supervises  the  internal  security  of  the  Confederation, 
the  preservation  of  peace  and  order. 

11.  In  case  of  urgency,  and  when  the  Federal  Assembly  is  not  in 
session,  the  Federal  Council  is  authorized  to  levy  the  necessary 
troops  and  to  employ  them,  provided,  however,  that  the  Councils 
shall  be  immediately  convened  if  the  number  of  troops  exceeds  two 
thousand  men,  or  if  they  remain  under  arms  more  than  three  weeks. 

12.  It  has  charge  of  everything  relating  to  Federal  military  mat- 
ters, and  of  all  other  branches  of  the  administration  belonging  to 
the  Confederation. 

13.  It  examines  the  laws  and  ordinances  of  the  Cantons  which 
are  to  be  submitted  to  its  approval;   it  exercises  supervision  over 
such  branches  of  the  Cantonal  administration  as  are  placed  under  its 
control. 

14.  It  administers  the  finances  of  the  Confederation,  forms  the 
budget  and  renders  account  of  receipts  and  expenditures. 

15.  It  watches  over  the  conduct  of  all  functionaries  and  officials 
of  the  Federal  administration. 

16.  It  renders  account  of  its  administration  to  the  Federal  Assem- 
bly at  each  ordinary  session,  presents  a  report  to  it  on  the  condition 
of  the  Confederation,  in  the  interior  as  well  as  abroad,  and  calls  to 
its  attention  such  measures  as  may,  in  its  opinion,  be  useful  to  the 
increase  of  general  prosperity. — It  also  makes  special  reports  when- 
ever the  Federal  Assembly,  or  one  of  the  sections,  demands  it. 

Art.  103.  The  business  of  the  Federal  Council  is  distributed  by 
departments  between  its  members.  This  distribution  is  only  intended  to 
facilitate  the  examination  and  transaction  of  business ;  decisions  emanate 
from  the  Federal  Council  as  authority. 

Art.  104.  The  Federal  Council  and  its  departments  are  authorized  to 
summon  experts  for  special  purposes. 


III.    FEDERAL  CHANCERY. 

Art.  105.  A  Federal  Chancery,  at  the  head  of  which  is  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Confederation,  has  charge  of  the  affairs  of  the  Federal  Assembly 
and  that  of  the  Federal  Council. — The  Chancellor  is  elected  by  the  Fed- 
eral Assembly  for  the  term  of  three  years,  at  the  same  time  as  the  Federal 
Council. — The  Chancery  is  under  the  special  supervision  of  the  Federal 
Council. — A  Federal  law  shall  determine  everything  relating  to  the 
organization  of  the  Chancery. 


SWISS     CONSTITUTION.  263 

IV.    FEDERAL  TRIBUNAI,. 

Art.  1 06.  There  is  a  Federal  Tribunal  for  the  administration  of  justice 
in  Federal  affairs.  There  is  also  a  Jury  for  penal  affairs  (Article  112). 

Art.  107.  The  members  and  substitutes  of  the  Federal  Tribunal  are 
elected  by  the  Federal  Assembly,  which  shall  take  care  that  the  three 
national  languages  be  represented  in  it. — The  law  will  determine  the 
organization  of  the  Federal  Tribunal  and  its  sections,  the  number  of 
members  and  their  substitutes,  the  duration  of  office  and  their  salaries. 

Art.  108.  Every  citizen  eligible  to  the  National  Council  can  be 
appointed  to  the  Federal  Tribunal. — The  members  of  the  Federal 
Assembly  and  of  the  Federal  Council  and  the  officials  appointed  by  these 
authorities,  cannot  at  the  same  time  be  members  of  the  Federal  Tribu- 
nal.— The  members  of  the  Federal  Tribunal  cannot,  during  their  term  of 
service,  hold  any  office,  either  in  th*  service  of  the  Confederation  or  in  a 
Canton,  nor  can  they  follow  any  other  calling  or  exercise  any  profes- 
sion. 

Art.  109.  The  Federal  Tribunal  organizes  its  Chancery  and  appoints 
its  officials. 

Art.  no.  The  Federal  Tribunal  has  jurisdiction  over  disputes  in  civil 
law : 

1.  Between  the  Confederation  and  the  Cantons  ; 

2.  Between  the  Confederation  on  one  part  and    of   corporations 
or  individuals  on  the  other  part,  when   these  corporations  or  indi- 
viduals  are  plaintiffs,  and  when  the  litigation   attains  a  degree  of 
importance  to  be  fixed  by  Federal  legislation  ; 

3.  Between  Cantons ; 

4.  Between  Cantons  on  one  part  and  corporations  or  individuals 
on  the  other  part,  when  one  of  the  parties  demands  it  and  when  the 
litigation   attains   a  degree  of  importance  to  be  fixed  by  Federal 
legislation. 

It  also  has  jurisdiction  over  disputes  regarding  persons  without  a 
country  ( "  heimat/osat"),and  over  the  disputes  that  may  arise  between  the 
communities  of  the  different  Cantons  concerning  the  right  of  domicile. 

Art.  in.  The  Federal  Tribunal  is  bound  to  give  judgment  in  other 
cases,  when  the  parties  agree  to  appeal  to  it  and  when  the  object  in  liti- 
gation attains  a  degree  of  importance  to  be  determined  by  Federal 
legislation. 

Art.  112.  The  Federal  Tribunal,  assisted  by  the  jury,  which  finds  on 
facts,  has  jurisdiction  in  penal  matters  over  : 

1.  Cases  of  high  treason  against  the  Confederation,  of  revolt,  or 
violence  against  the  Federal  authorities  ; 

2.  Crimes  and  trespasses  against  the  laws  of  nations  ; 


264  SWISS     CONSTITUTION. 

3.  Political  crimes  and  offenses,  which  are  the  cause,  or  result,  of 
troubles,  by  which  armed  Federal  intervention  has  been  brought 
about; 

4.  Charges  preferred  against  officials   appointed  by  any  Federal 
authority,   when  such  authority  brings  them  before  the  Federal 
Tribunal. 

Art.  113.    The  Tribunal,  moreover,  has  jurisdiction  over  : 

1.  Conflicts  of  jurisdiction  between  Federal  authorities  on  one 
part  and  the  Cantonal  authorities  on  the  other  part ; 

2.  Disputes  between  Cantons,  when  these  conflicts  are  within  the 
domain  of  public  law  ' 

3.  Complaints  for  violation   of   the   constitutional   rights   of 
citizens,  and  complaints  of  individuals  for  violation  of  compacts 
or  treaties. 

Exception  is  made  for  administrative  conflicts,  which  shall  be  settled 
by  Federal  legislation. 

In  all  the  foregoing  cases  the  Federal  Tribunal  shall  apply  the  laws 
enacted  by  the  Federal  Assembly  and  the  resolutions  of  that  Assembly 
which  have  a  general  bearing.  It  shall  also  conform  to  the  treaties 
which  shall  have  been  ratified  by  the  Federal  Assembly. 

Art.  114.  In  addition  to  the  cases  mentioned  in  Articles  no,  112  and 
113,  the  Federal  legislation  may  place  other  matters  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Federal  Tribunal ;  it  may,  especially,  give  to  that  Tribu- 
nal powers  for  the  purpose  of  insuring  the  uniform  application  of  the 
laws  provided  in  Article  64. 

VI.    SUNDRY  PROVISIONS. 

Art.  115.  All  matters  concerning  the  seat  of  the  authorities  of  the 
Confederation  are  subject  to  Federal  legislation. 

Art.  116.  The  three  principal  languages  spoken  in  Switzerland:  Ger- 
man, French  and  Italian,  are  national  languages  of  the  Confederation. 

Art  117.  The  officials  of  the  Confederation  are  responsible  for  their 
conduct  in  office.  A  Federal  law  shall  determine  the  exact  nature  of 
such  responsibility. 


CHAPTER    III. 
REVISION    OF  THE   FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION. 

Art.  118.     The  Federal  Constitution  can  be  revised  at  any  time. 

Art.  119.     The  revision  takes  place  in   the  manner  to  be  laid  down  by 
Federal  legislation. 


SWISS     CONSTITUTION.  265 

Art.  120.  When  a  section  of  the  Federal  Assembly  decrees  the 
revision  of  the  Federal  Constitution  and  the  other  section  does  not  con- 
sent thereto,  or  when  fifty  thousand  Swiss  citizens  entitled  to  vote 
call  for  a  revision,  the  question  of  ascertaining  whether  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution shall  be  revised  is  in  either  case  submitted  to  the  votes  of  the 
Swiss  people  by  ayes  and  noes.  If  in  either  of  these  cases  the  majority 
of  the  citizens  taking  part  in  the  vote  pronounces  in  the  affirmative,  the 
two  Councils  shall  be  reflected  to  work  on  the  revision. 

Art.  121.  The  revised  Federal  Constitution  goes  into  force  when  it 
shall  have  been  accepted  by  the  majority  of  the  Swiss  citizens  taking 
part  in  the  vote,  and  by  a  majority  of  States. — In  order  to  establish 
the  majority  of  States,  the  vote  of  a  half-Canton  is  counted  as  half  a 
vote. — The  result  of  the  popular  vote  in  each  Canton  is  considered  as 
tbe  vote  of  the  State. 


TEMPORARY    PROVISIONS. 

Article  i.  The  proceeds  of  the  posts  and  import  duties  shall  be  dis- 
tributed on  the  present  basis,  up  to  the  time  when  the  Con  federation  takes 
definite  charge  of  the  military  expenses  borne  by  the  Cantons  up  to  this 
date. — Federal  legislation  shall  provide,  moreover,  that  the  losses  which 
may  be  caused  by  the  whole  of  the  modifications  resulting  from  Articles 
20,  30,  36,  2d  line,  and  42  (e}>  to  the  fisc  of  certain  Cantons,  shall  fall  to 
them  but  gradually,  and  shall  not  attain  its  sum  total  until  after  a  transi- 
tion period  of  several  years. — The  Cantons  which,  at  the  time  Article 
20  of  the  Constitution  enters  into  force,  shall  not  have  fulfilled  the  mili- 
tary obligations  imposed  upon  them  by  the  old  Constitution  and  Federal 
laws,  shall  be  bound  to  carry  them  out  at  their  own  expense. 

Art.  2.  The  provisions  of  the  Federal  laws,  of  the  Compacts  and  Con- 
stitutions, or  Cantonal  laws  contrary  to  the  present  Constitution, cease  to 
be  in  force  through  the  fact  of  the  adoption  of  the  latter,  or  of  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  laws  provided  in  it. 

Art.  3.  New  laws  concerning  the  organization  and  jurisdiction  of 
the  Federal  Tribunal  do  not  go  into  force  until  after  the  promulgation  of 
the  respective  Federal  laws. 

Art.  4.  A  delay  of  five  years  is  granted  to  the  Cantons  to  introduce 
free  primary  public  instruction  (Article  27). 

Art.  5.  Persons  who  exercise  a  liberal  profession  and  who,  before 
the  promulgation  of  the  Federal  law  provided  in  Article  33,  have 
obtained  a  certificate  of  competency  from  a  Canton,  or  from  a  joint 
authority  representing  several  Cantons,  may  exercise  such  profession 
throughout  the  territory  of  the  Confederation. 


266 


SWISS     CONSTITUTION. 


Art.  6.  If  the  Federal  law  provided  in  Article  32  bis  is  put  in  force 
before  the  expiration  of  the  year  1890,  the  import  duties  collected  by  the 
Cantons  on  spirituous  liquors,  in  conformity  with  Article  32,  shall  be 
abolished  upon  said  law  going  into  force. — If  in  this  case  the  shares 
coming  to  these  Cantons  or  communities,  from  the  sum  to  be  dis- 
tributed, are  not  sufficient  to  compensate  for  the  abolished  duties,  com- 
puted after  the  annual  average  net  proceeds  of  these  duties  during  the 
years  from  1880  to  1884  inclusive,  the  deficiency  of  the  Cantons  or  com- 
munes thus  losing  shall  be  covered,  up  to  the  end  of  1890,  from  the 
sum  that  would  fall  to  the  other  Cantons,  according  to  the  number  of 
their  population,  and  only  after  this  deduction  shall  the  remainder  be 
distributed  among  these  at  the  pro  rata  of  their  population.— Federal 
legislation  shall,  moreover,  provide,  that  the  loss  which  may  be  caused 
by  the  application  of  the  present  provision  to  the  fisc  of  the  Cantons  or 
communities  interested,  shall  fall  upon  them  by  degrees  only,  and  shan 
not  attain  its  total  amount  until  after  a  period  of  transition  up  to  1895, 
and  the  sums  to  be  allotted  for  that  purpose  shall  be  taken  from  the  net 
receipts  mentioned  in  Article  32  bis,  4th  sentence. 


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